Elementary 
Agriculture 

William  LewisNida 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

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Fig.  1.    Every  stock  farm  needs  its  shade  and  water  easily  accessible. 


Elementary 
Agriculture 


By 
William  Lewis  Nida,  Ph.  B. 

Superintendent  of  Schools, 
River  Forest,  111. 


1921 
A.  Flanagan  Company 

CHICAGO 


c: 


COPYRIGHT  1913,  1915,  1917.  BY  A.  FLANAGAN   COMPANY 


AGRIC.  DEPT,   ^"-^  ^-^ 


PREFACE 

If  country  boys  and  girls  are  to  be  kept  on  the  farm,  it 
is  incumbent  on  parents  and  school  authorities  to  enlist 
their  interest  in  scientific  farming  and  stock  raising  at  the 
earliest  possible  age.  A  text  on  Agriculture  for  grade  or 
rural  schools  should,  therefore,  begin  with  a  discussion  of 
farm  animals,  because  it  is  vastly  easier  to  stir  up  enthu- 
siasm among  children  over  the  raising  of  fine  stock  than  it 
is  over  soil  elements  or  even  fine  crops. 

Many  texts  have  reversed  this  order,  because  certain 
farmers'  organizations  have  so  recommended.  However,  if 
education  is  our  object,  the  child  mind  should  receive  first 
consideration  in  presenting  any  subject.     - 

The  author  was  born  and  reared  on  an  Ohio  farm  and 
taught  in  rural  schools  for  several  winters.  He  was  later 
a  supervisor  of  township  schools.  His  knowledge  of  actual 
farm  life  and  rural  schools  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the 
child  on  the  other,  is  offered  in  explanation  of  this  attempt 
to  place  before  the  children  of  the  common  schools  a  simple 
and  stimulating  introduction  to  scientific  farming. 

Grateful  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  for  a  number  of  fine  photographs  and 
for  much  valuable  material  from  which  the  author  has 
drawn  freely.  The  author  and  publishers  also  desire  to 
express  thanks  to  the  Agricultural  Extension  Department 
of  the  International  Harvester  Company  for  a  number  of 
fine  plates  and  half  tones  chiefly  of  animals  and  farm 
scenes,  selected  by  the  author,  and  for  valuable  sugges- 
tions. To  others  who  have  kindly  aided  us  with  photo- 
graplis,  credit  has  been  given  in  the  body  of  the  book. 

William  L.  Nida. 


578505 


CONTENTS 

Part  I.    Farm  Animals 

PAGES 

CHAPTER  I.     THE  HORSE 1-15 

Taming  the  Wild  Horse — Horses  Introduced  in  America — 
Draft  Horses — Coach  Horses — Roadsters — Use  and  Care  of 
Horses — Breaking  the  Colt 

CHAPTER  II.    CATTLE 16-28 

Taming  of  Cattle— The  Ox  at  Work— Beef  Cattle— Dairy 
Cows — Building  Up  a  Fine  Herd 

CHAPTER  III.    MILK  AND  BUTTER 29-33 

Milk  as  Food  —  Care  of  Milk  —  Butter-fat  —  Churning  — 
Cheese-making — Bj-products 

CHAPTER  IV.    SHEEP 34-38 

Origin  of  Sheep — Their  Care — Merinos — Mutton  Types 

CHAPTER  V.    SWINE 39-48 

Improving  the  Hog — Bacon  and  Lard  Types — Berkshires, 
Chester- Whites,  Duroc-Jerseys,  Poland-Chinas  —  Feeding 
and  Care — Diseases 

CHAPTER   VL     POULTRY 49-57 

Origin  of  Chickens — Value  to  the  Farmer — Kinds  and  Uses 
of  Fowls — Their  Care  and  Feeding — The  Young  Brood — 
Poultry  Pests 

CHAPTER  VII.    TURKEYS,  DUCKS,  AND  GEESE 58-60 

Raising  Turkeys — Ducks  on  the  Farm — Geese 
CHAPTER  VIII.    INSECTS 61-67 

Insect  Enemies — Insect  Friends — Parts  of  an  Insect — Biting 

Insects — Sucking    Insects — Insect    Growth — Larva    Stage — 

Pupa  Stage — Life  of  Insects 

CHAPTER  IX.    THE  BEE 68-76 

The  First  Sugar  Makers — Taming  the  Bee — Making  Honey 
— The  Bee  Family— Care  of  the  Bees  for  Profit — Other 
Services  of  Bees 

CHAPTER  X.    BIRDS 77-83 

Birds  of  Killing^vo^th — Service  to  Farmers — Grosbeaks — 
Protecting  Crops — Paying  Their  Way 


CONTENTS 
Part  II.    Soii/S  and  Farm  Crops 

PAGES 

(CHAPTER  XL    SOILS 84-95 

What  Soil  Is— Kinds  of  Soil — Humus — Plant-foods — Liquid 
Food  for  Plants— Importance  of  Water  in  Soil— Drainage 
—Tiling— Bacteria  in  Soil — Rotation  of  Crops— Different 
Systems  of  Rotation 

CHAPTER  XIL    PLANTS  AND  HOW  THEY  GROW 96-102 

Parts  of  the  Plant— The  Work  of  Roots— The  Stem- 
Leaves —  Flowers  —  Pollination  —  Variety  in  Plant  Life  — 
Dissemination  of  Seeds 

CHAPTER  XIIL    TILLAGE  AND  FARM  MACHINERY. 10^-112 
Tilling  in  Ancient  Times — Teachings  of  Jethro  Tull — What 
Tillage  Does — The  Dust  Mulch — Dry  Farming — Irrigation — 
Better  Machinery — Iron  Tools 

CHAPTER  XIV.    CORN 113-125 

Origin  of  Corn — Importance  to  the  Pioneer — Indian  Farm- 
ing— The  Corn  Belt — Choosing  Seed  Corn — What  Consti- 
tutes a  Prize  Ear — Curing  the  Seed — Testing  Seed  Corn — 
Preparation  for  the  Crop — Getting  a  Good  Stand — Cultiva- 
tion— Harvesting — The  Silo — Other  Uses  of  Corn 

CHAPTER  XV.    WHEAT 126-137 

Origin  of  Wheat — Introduction  of  Wheat  Into  America — 
Kinds  of  Wheat — The  Crop — Wheat  in  Rotation — Enemies 
of  Wheat — Harvesting  Tools — Animal  Power — The  Reaper 
— Self  Binder — Combined  Harvesters — Uses  of  Wheat 

CHAPTER  XVI.    OATS,  BARLEY,  AND  RYE 138-145 

Climate  and  Soil  for  Oats — Seeding  and  Harvesting— Bar- 
ley— Rotation — Enemies — Use — Rye  Enemies — Use 

CHAPTER  XVII.    THE  HAY  CROP 146-153 

Timothy — Clovers — Harvesting  Red  Clover— Alsike  Clover 
— Alfalfa — Cowpeas 

CHAPTER  XVIII.    SUGARS  AND  OTHER  CROPS 154-160 

Cutting  of  Sugar  Cane  for  Seed— Planting  Sugar  Cane- 
Harvesting — Sugar  Beet — Cultivation  and  Harvesting — Rice 
— Tobacco 

CHAPTER  XIX.    THE  FIELD  OR  IRISH  POTATO 161-167 

Origin  of  the  Potato— A  Tuber— Kinds  of  Seeds— How  to 
Choose  Seed — Soil  and  Cultivation — Diseases  and  Enemies 
— The  Sweet  Potato 


CONTENTS 

PAGES 

CHAPTER  XX.     WEEDS 168-171 

Annuals,  Biennials,  Perennials — Fighting  the  Weeds — Weeds 
for  Drugs 

CHAPTER   XXL     ORCHARDS 172-181 

Convenience  to  Market — Hill  Country  for  Orchards — Best 
Slopes — Influence  of  Water — Soil — Preparation  for  Plowing 
— Setting  Trees — Tilling  the  Orchard — Pruning — Spraying — 
Harvesting 

CHAPTER  XXII.    THE  FARM  GARDEN 182-200 

The  Boy's  Experiment  Farm — Garden  Tools — Mulching — 
Hot  Beds — Cold  Frames^^Transplanting — Peas  and  Beans — 
Beets,  Turnips,  Carrots,  Parsnips,  Radishes — Chard,  Aspara- 
gus—Sweet Corn — Cabbage,  Lettuce — Cucumbers,  Melons, 
Squashes  —  Onions,  Tomatoes,  Egg-plant  —  Grapes  —  Rasp- 
berries and  Blackberries — Strawberries 

CHAPTER  XXIII.    COUNTRY  ROADS 201-212 

Bearing  Upon  Farmers'  Profits — Good  Roads  and  Schools — 
Interest  of  City  People — Working  Out  the  Road  Tax — Pay- 
ing Road  Taxes  in  Cash — The  Macadam  Road— Effect  of 
Surface  on  Loads— Surfacing  Clay  and  Sandy  Roads — Loam 
Roads— Brick  Roads 

CHAPTER  XXIV.    PRESERVING  FOODS. 213-215 

Germs  Which  Help  and  Hinder — The  Yeast  Plant — Making 
Bread — Mold — Canning  Fruit — Smoking  Meats — Cold  Stor- 
age— Preserving  Fruits — Bacteria  in  Butter  and  Cider 

CHAPTER  XXV.    FARM  SANITATION , 216-224 

Water  Supply — Sewage  and  Disease — Mosquitos  and  Malaria 
—The  House  Fly  and  Typhoid— Fighting  Flies— Milk  a 
Germ  Carrier — Ventilating  the  Bam — Heating  and  Ventilat- 
ing the  Home — Fresh  Air  in  the  School  Room 

CHAPTER  XXVI.    THE  FARMER'S  COLLEGE 225-228 

The  Department  of  Agriculture — Helps  from  Pamphlets — 
State  Experiment  Stations — College  of  Agriculture 

CHAPTER  XXVII.    BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'  CLUBS 229-238 

Club  Movement — Boys'  Com  Clubs — Father  and  Son  Clubs 
—Potato  Clubjr— Tomato  Canning  Clubs— The  Club  and 
School 

Appendix 

Exercises — Problems — Experiments    241-285 

Index    287-294 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

PART  I.    FARM  ANIMALS 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  HOESE 

Taming  the  Wild  Horse.  Who  tamed  and  rode 
tlie  first  wild  horse  and  how  he  did  it,  we  shall  never 
know;  but  it  was  an  important  event  for  mankind. 
It  happened  long  ages  ago,  before  men  began  to  write 
their  doings  in  books.  We  know  that  horses  lived 
in  the  time  of  the  cave  men,  for  we  find  remains  of 
horses  and  rude  pictures  of  them  scratched  on  stone 
in  caves  and  sand  drifts.  The  cave  men  hunted  these 
wild  horses  for  meat  and  for  their  skins. 

Variety  in  Size.  The  horse  was  then  much  smaller 
than  he  is  now.  He  was  about  the  size  of  a  wild  pony. 
The  wild  horses  that  came  to  live  in  mild  climates 
where  food  was  plentiful  began  to  grow  larger,  with 
heavier  limbs  and  stronger  muscles;  but  those  that 
passed  into  cold,  bleak  lands  where  food  was  scarce, 
grew  small  like  the  ponies  of  the  Shetland  Islands. 

The  Horse's  Foot.  The  bones  and  fossils  of  the 
ancient  horse  show  that  he  was  once  less  than 
twenty-four  inches  in  height.    He  had  a  spreading 


2  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

f^ot  witli  Hvi^  toes.  At  that  time  lie  lived  in  low, 
marsj-iy  lands,  and  -tqes  were  needed  to  help  him  get 
>^boui'.''As4he'eaVtli  became  harder  he  lost  one  toe 
after  another  and  so  was  able  to  travel  faster  to 
escape  from  his  enemies.  The  horse's  hoof  is  the 
Dail  of  the  one  remaining  toe. 

Riding  Horseback.  The  Greeks  first  drove  the 
horse  hitched  to  rude  chariots,  bnt  later,  it  is  said, 
they  learned  to  ride  him  without  saddle  or  bridle. 
They  invented  the  first  bridle  bit,  which  is  called 
the  .snaffle.  Neither  Greeks  nor  Eomans  shod  their 
horses.  At  first  only  kings,  nobles,  and  warriors 
could  afford  horses.  They  were  used  chiefly  in  war 
and  for  riding  and  driving  in  war  chariots.  But 
everybody  who  was  able  rode  horseback;  even  kings 
looked  upon  this  as  the  most  dignified  way  to  travel. 

The  First  Work  Animal.  All  this  time  the  farmer 
had  only  the  plow  ox  or  the  stubborn  ass  to  help  him 
raise  his  crops.  "When  at  last  the  farmer  began  to 
use  the  horse,  he  did  his  work  much  faster,  for  the 
horse  has  not  only  better  speed  and  greater  strength 
than  the  ox,  but  he  can  hold  out  longer. 

The  Horse  and  the  Indian.  Horses  were  not  found 
in  America  when  the  white  men  first  came.  The 
Indians  were  greatly  frightened  when  they  saw  the 
horses  which  the  Spaniards  brought  over.  They 
thought  these  animals  were  terrible  monsters.  But 
the  Indians  soon  learned  to  use  the  horse,  and,  after 
a  time,  great  herds  of  horses  appeared  wild  on  the 
western  plains. 


THE  HORSE 


3 


The  Big  Draft  Horse.  Tlie»^^«3|^%me  when  men 
began  to  breed  horses  for  different  uses.  When  they 
wished  work  horses  that  could  draw  very  heavy 
loads  at  a  slow  pace,  they  selected  the  heavy,  stout- 
limbed  animals  that  had  strong  muscles;  and  by 
using  these  as  parents  they  reared  more  like  them. 
Gradually  the  colts  of  these  horses  grew  stronger 
and  larger,  and  so  the  draft  horse  was  developed. 


Fit;.  2.     A   coacli  hoi6t. 


Coach  and  Roadsters.    Other  men  wanted  horses 
that  could  i)ull   heavy  coaches  with  good   speed. 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


Fig.  3.     Percheron  stallion. 

They  wanted  high  knee  action  and  fine  style.  So 
they  kept  this  kind  to  breed  from  and  developed  the 
coach  horse  (Fig.  2).  Still  other  men  wanted  speedy 
horses  for  light  loads,  and  they  reared  saddle  and 
race  horses. 

Kinds  of  Draft  Horses.  The  draft  horse  is  blocky, 
heavy,  and  powerful.  He  may  weigh  from  fifteen 
hundred  to  two  thousand  pounds  and  is  in  much 


THE  HORSE  5 

demand  for  pulling  great  loads  on  city  streets.  He 
has  a  round  body  and  ratlier  short  legs.  His  hind 
legs  are  the  stronger,^  yet  he  uses  his  front  legs  so 
much  in  pulling  that  the  front  quarters  are  heavy 
and  powerful.  His  breast  is  broad  and  his  front 
legs  far  apart.  From  France  we  get  the  Percheron 
(Figs.  3  and  4)  draft  horse,  with  a  gray,  chestnut, 
or  black  color;  from  Belgium  comes  the  bay  Bel- 
gian; the  Shire  of  bay  brown  or  chestnut  color 
comes  from  England  and  the  smaller  but  more 
active  Clydesdale  (Fig.  5)  from  Scotland. 

How  to  Hitch  a  Horse.  When  a  team  cannot  pull 
a  heavy  load,  it  is  often  because  the  feet  slip.  The 
heavier  the  horse  is,  the  better  he  can  hold  with  his 
toes.  A  horse  can  really  pull  more  on  hard  or  slip- 
pery roads  if  he  has  a  man  on  his  back.  This  gives 
him  more  weisrht  and  a  better  foothold.    One  wav  to 


Fig.    4.      PrUc   six-horse   Percheron    team. 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


Fig.  5.     A  Clydesdale. 

help  a  horse  pull  heavy  loads  is  to  put  the  whiffle- 
tree  low  down.  It  is  better  to  have  the  doubletree 
under  the  tongue  for  heavy  pulling.  A  farmer 
once  tested  this  by  hitching  a  horse  to  a  post  with  a 
spring  balance  which  would  show  how  many  pounds 
he  pulled.  When  the  whiffletree  was  tied  six  inches 
from  the  ground  he  pulled  six  hundred  pounds  more 
than  when  it  was  three  feet  from  the  ground. 

Driving  Fast.  When  a  horse  has  a  light  load  and 
is  driven  for  speed,  the  whiffletree  should  be  high. 
This  makes  the  weight  on  the  horse  lighter  so  there 
is  less  strain  on  his  legs  and  feet.    Sometimes  you 


THE  HORSE 


see  in  the  city  a  two-wheeled  carriage  with  the 
driver  sitting  high  behind.  This  is  called  a  hansom 
cab.  The  driver's  weight  makes  the  thills  pull  up 
on  the  horse  and  so  carries  part  of  the  horse's 
weight.  This  saves  his  feet  greatly  in  driving  upon 
hard  pavements. 

Race  Horses.  The  American  trotter  (Fig.  6)  and 
the  American  saddle  horse  are  the  best  of  their  kind 
in  the  world.  Trotters  have  powerful  hind  legs  and 
i»ood  lungs.  They  have  small  heads  and  large  nos- 
trils so  they  can  breathe  abundance  of  air  (Fig.  7). 


-  -  • '-  jiiv .  ■■»• » .^,i*,n 


*.  >i     -  '•  *'       »*■: 


Fio.  6.     American  trotting  horse  (Morgan  type). 


8  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTUEE 

Other  Uses  of  the  Horse.  Among  the  Tartar  tribes 
of  northern  and  central  Asia,  mare 's  milk  and  horse- 
flesh are  still  used  for  the  food  of  man.  Old  horses 
are  always  fattened  for  the  meat  markets  of  France 
and  other  countries  of  Europe. 

Most  Horses  in  America.  To-day  in  Great  Britain 
there  is  one  horse  to  every  twenty  people ;  in  France, 
one  to  every  ten  people;  and  in  the  United  States, 
one  to  every  five  people.  So  we  have  more  horses 
in  America  than  there  are  in  any  other  country,  and 
we  make  them  do  more  of  our  work. 

Horse  Power  Cheap.  Human  labor  costs  more 
than  any  other  kind  of  labor,  so  the  farmer  has 
learned  to  use  his  horses  for  many  purposes.  Years 
ago,  when  harnesses  were  poor  and  tools  crude, 
many  things  were  done  by  human  hands  that  are 
now  done  by  horse  power.  To-day  one  good  horse 
can  do  as  much  work  as  ten  men,  while  his  board 
and  keep  costs  about  half  as  much  as  that  of  one 
man. 

Doing  Forty  Men's  Work.  A  farmer  boy  who 
drives  a  four-horse  team  hitched  to  a  gang-plow  is 
doing  as  much  work  as  forty  men  working  with 
hand  tools.  Four-horse  plows  and  four-horse  har- 
rows are  very  common  on  the  large  farms  in  the 
West.  Some  of  the  great  harvesting  machines  em- 
ploy as  many  as  twenty  or  thirty  horses  and  mules 
on  a  single  machine. 

Feeding  the  Horse.  A  horse's  stomach  is  small, 
so  he  cannot  use  as  much  bulky  food  as  a  cow.    He 


THE  HOKSE  9 

ought  to  have  at  least  three  good  meals  every  day. 
When  a  horse  is  making  long  trips  on  the  road  he 
should  not  have  too  much  hay,  but  a  richer  food, 
like  corn  or  oats.  The  work  horse  should  have  his 
largest  meal  at  night,  when  he  has  plenty  of  time 
to  eat  and  digest  it.  If  a  horse  is  not  warm,  it  is 
better  to  water  before  feeding  him.  The  water 
passes  on  through  the  stomach  and  leaves  room 
for  the  food.    If  an  animal  is  very  warm,  it  should 


Fig.  7.     Thoroughbred  trotting  mares  and  colts. 

not  be  given  either  food  or  water  until  it  has  cooled 
off.  Clover  hay  is  not  so  good  for  a  horse  as  tim- 
othy, because  it  is  more  dusty;  and  dusty  hay  is 
liable  to  give  horses  the  heaves.  If  dusty  hay  must 
be  used,  it  should  be  sprinkled  before  feeding. 

A  Good  Variety.    It  is  cruel  to  feed  the  horse  on 
nothing  but  oats  and  hay  all  the  year  round,  when 


10  .        ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTUEE 

he  would  so  much  like  some  barley,  beans,  peas, 
corn,  or  turnips  for  a  change.  In  the  United  States 
Army  a  horse  is  allowMten^  quarts  of  oats  a  day. 
It  is  better  to  feed  corn  on  the  cob,  as  this  makes  the 
animal  eat  more  slowly  and  it  also  improves  his 
teeth.  When  carrots  are  given,  they  should  be 
sliced  to  prevent  the  horse  from  choking.  It  is 
important  to  keep  a  little  salt  in  his  trough. 

Cleaning  the  Horse.  When  a  horse  comes  to  the 
barn  w^ith  muddy  legs,  they  should  be  rubbed  down 
or  washed,  especially  in  cold  weather,  to  prevent 
rheumatism.  Time  spent  in  cleaning  and  rubbing 
the  horse  in  the  evening  after  the  day^s  work  is 
done,  is  much  better  for  the  animal  than  the  same 
time  spent  in  the  morning,  because  the  horse  will 
rest  so  much  better. 

His  Care.  When  a  horse  is  warm  upon  stopping 
work  in  cold  weather,  he  should  be  blanketed  to 
keep  him  from  catching  cold.  On  very  cold  morn- 
ings the  bits  should  be  warmed  by  dipping  them  in 
water  before  bridling  the  horse.  Even  cold  water 
will  keep  a  frosty  bit  from  freezing  to  the  tongue 
and  tearing  the  skin.  Have  you  ever  tried  touching 
your  tongue  to  frosty  iron? 

Healthy  Shoulders.  Many  farm  horses  suffer 
from  sore  shoulders.  This  need  not  be  so.  The 
collar  should  fit  and  be  kept  clean.  If  there  is 
danger  of  sore  shoulders,  they  should  be  washed  in 
salt  water  at  noon  and  in  the  evening.  Salt  water 
is  healing,  and  it  makes  the  shoulders  tough.   When 


THE  HORSE  n 

the  team  is  working  hard,  the  harness  ought  to  bo 
removed  at  the  noon  hour.  The  horse  should  be  well 
cleaned  every  day  with  a  good  brush.  The  curry- 
comb is  harsh  and  painful,  especially  when  used  by 
rougli  hands. 

A  Pleasant  Home.  The  horse's  home  or  stable 
should  be  kept  clean.  It  needs  to  be  light,  but  the 
windows  must  not  be  where  the'  horse  will  look  into 
them,  for  this  will  injure  his  eyes,  as  it  does  yours 
when  you  sit  facing  a  window.  The  horse  barn 
should  also  have  good  air.  If  the  barn  is  made  verj^ 
warm,  a  window  should  always  be  open  where  the 
draft  will  not  strike  the  animals. 

Shoeing  the  Horse.  Many  horseshoers  do  not  un- 
derstand their  trade,  and  so  they  injure  the  feet  of 
the  horse.  Sometimes  they  put  on  shoes  that  are  too 
big,  and  this  stretches  the  hoof  too  much.  A  very 
small  shoe  pinches  and  makes  corns.  Some  pare 
the  sole  too  much,  and  others  even  use  the  knife  on 
tlie  frog,  which  is  a  great  injury  to  the  foot.  As  the 
hoof  is  growing  all  the  time,  just  as  a  man's  finger- 
nails grow,  the  shoes  need  to  be  changed  often,  so 
they  will  not  pinch  the  foot. 

One  Lesson  at  a  Time.  In  breaking  colts  it  is 
better  not  to  try  to  teach  them  too  much  at  one  time. 
One  of  tlie  first  lessons  is  to  ''halter-break"  the 
young  colt.  This  should  be  done  while  he  is  still 
a  suckling.  A  strong,  well-fitting  halter  is  placed 
on  him,  and  he  is  tied  short  to  a  post  near  to  his 
mother.    A  colt  should  always  be  tied  firmly,  for  if 


12 


ELEMENT'AEY  AGRICULTURE 


1.  Clove  hitch. 

2.  Picket  rope  with  a  half-granny  and  a  half-hitch. 

3.  Bowline:  a  noose  that  never  slips;  is  easily  untied. 


4.  A  slip  knot,  running  noose,  or  halter  knot. 

5.  Becket  hitch  for  joining  a  cord  and  a  rope. 

6.  Reef  knot  or  square  knot ;  never  slips  ;  easily  untied. 

7.  False  reef  or  granny  ;  diflacult  to  untie  ;  a  bad  knot. 

Fig.  8.     Knots  that  every 


THE  HOBSE 


9  10 

Anchor  bend. 

Fixed  loop  in  middle  of  a  cord. 

Weavers'   knot   or  sheet   bend,  for  joining  small   cords. 

Two   half-hitches. 


12  13 

12.     Blackwall  hitch. 

13      Carrick  bend  for  joinlnjr  large  ropes. 
14.     Timber  hitch  ;  cannot  slip  or  Jamb  ;  easily  untied. 
farmer  should  know. 


14  ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTUBE 

he  once  breaks  loose  he  has  learned  a  very  bad  trick 
(Fig.  8). 

His  First  Bridle.  After  the  colt  is  halter-broken 
so  he  can  be  tied  or  led,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  tie  his 
halter  to  his  mother's  hame  or  collar.  In  this  way 
he  gets  used  to  trotting  beside  another  horse.  The 
next  lesson  is  to  put  on  a  bridle  with  a  smooth  bit. 
An  open  bridle  is  better  than  a  ^' blind''  one,  for  the 
horse  ought  to  see  everything  about  him  so  he  will 
the  more  quickly  get  used  to  the  new  experience. 

Driving  the  Colt.  A  saddle  may  now  be  put  on, 
or  a  single  harness  with  crupper  and  back  strap. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  drive  the  horse  at  first  without 
a  cart.  The  driver  passes  the  lines  through  the  tug 
or  the  loop  made  for  the  shafts,  and  in  this  way 
keeps  the  animal  from  whirling  suddenly  and  get- 
ting tangled  up  in  the  lines.  It  is  well  to  have  a 
helper  lead  the  colt  at  first,  until  he  understands 
what  is  expected  of  him. 

Driving  Double.  The  colt  may  now  be  hitched  to 
a  cart  with  long  shafts  and  a  kick  strap,  or  he  may 
be  hitched  up  with  another  horse.  When  this  is 
done  it  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  a  pair  of  single  lines 
on  the  colt's  bridle  and  have  these  in  the  hands  of  a 
helper.  In  hitching  up  double,  it  is  well  to  use  a 
heavy  wagon  with  a  brake  and  to  put  the  colt  on  the 
''off"  side.  He  can  now  be  taught  to  stop,  to  back, 
and  to  start  at  the  proper  signal. 

Not  Too  Many  Signals.  A  horse  should  be  trained 
early  to  stand  still  while  he  is  being  harnessed  and 


THE  HORSE  15 

liitclied  up.  Very  few  words  or  signals  should  be 
used,  for  a  horse  has  far  less  brains  than  a  dog. 
"Whoa''  should  always  mean  to  stop.  "Steady" 
is  the  word  when  we  wish  the  team  to  go  more 
slowly.  "Back''  should  be  used  only  when  we  wish 
the  team  to  move  backwards. 

Kindness  Pays.  ^  *  The  merciful  man  is  merciful  to 
his  beast,"  and  the  well-treated  horse  repays  his 
master's  patience  and  good  care.  Horses,  like  all 
farm  animals,  should  be  kindly  and  gently  handled. 
Jerking  and  whipping  do  harm  to  the  horse,  and 
this  means  a  money  loss  to  the  farmer. 

(QUESTIONS 

(1)  How  do  we  know  that  the  horse  lived  in  the  cave 
man's  time?  (2)  What  were  horses  first  used  for?  (3) 
What  difference  did  the  horse  make  in  the  life  of  the  In- 
dian? (4)  Why  did  men  want  a  draft  horse?  (5) 
What  is  taking  his  place  in  the  cities?  (6)  Do  you  think 
that  machinery  will  ever  entirely  take  the  place  of  the 
horse?  (7)  Why  or  why  not?  (8)  Are  coach  horses 
increasing  in  the  city  streets  or  decreasing?  (9)  Why? 
(10)  Why  should  the  horse  be  hitched  low  to  a  heavy 
load?  (11)  What  types  of  horses  have  been  developed 
in  America?  (12)  Why  does  a  horse  need  different 
kinds  of  food?  (13)  How  do  you  break  a  colt?  (14) 
In  what  ways  is  machinery  relieving  the  horse  on  the 
farm?  (15)  Make  questions  of  your  own  on  each  chap- 
ter.    (16)    Have  the  class  answer  them. 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments  on  each  chap- 
ter, refer  to  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  II 
CATTLE 

More  Useful  Than  Horses.  Horses  are  a  great 
help  to  man,  but  we  could  get  along  without  them 
better  than  without  cattle.  Cattle  supply  us  with 
meat,  leather,  and  milk;  and  they  may  also  be  yoked 
up  for  work. 

Where  Cattle  Came  From.  Cattle  have  come 
down  to  us  from  a  queer  animal  of  the  cave  man's 
time,  called  tlie  urns.  In  those  far-off  days  there 
was  also  a  kind  of  wild  cattle.  Some  say  the  herds 
of  wild  cattle  mixed  with  herds  of  the  urns,  and 
this  mixture  formed  the  cattle  that  we  have.  But 
nobody 'is  very  sure  about  this.  We  know  that  the 
cave  man  hunted  and  killed  wild  cattle  for  meat. 

Taming  the  Wild  Cattle.  A  long  time  after  the 
cave  man  a  higher  race  of  men  lived  in  villages  built 
out  over  the  edge  of  lakes  in  Switzerland.  These 
people,  called  the  Swiss  lake-dwellers,  seem  to  have 
tamed  the  cow.  How  do  you  think  they  did  it? 
They  probably  kept  cows  at  first  for  milk  only. 
Instead  of  hunting  all  the  time  for  food,  the  people 
began  to  give  some  time  to  their  cattle  and  so 
became  herders. 

Churning  the  First  Butter.  Then  a  wonderful  dis- 
covery was  made  by  some  one,  and  that  was  how  to 
make  butter  from  milk.  Probably  some  lake-dweller 

16 


CATTLE 


17 


was  carrying  upon  a  journey  a  skin  or  leather  bag 
of  milk,  and  the  motion  churned  the  butter.  Milk 
will  not  keep  long  without  souring,  but  butter  keeps 
much  longer.    The  cow,  with  her  milk,  butter,  hide. 


Fig.   9.     A   heef  breed   ( Shorthorns). 

and  meat,  must  have  done  a  greaj;  deal  to  help  these 
ancient  people  to  better  ways  of  living. 

Hitching  Cattle  to  Loads.  We  do  not  know  when 
cattle  were  first  yoked  up  and  hitched  to  loads. 
Perhaps  a  cow  was  tied  by  a  leather  thong,  when 
suddenly  she  made  oif  through  the  woods,  dragging 
a  man  or  tlie  log  to  which  she  was  tied.    Then  some 


18  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

one  hit  upon  the  idea  of  tying  a  cow  to  anything  he 
wished  to  have  moved. 

The  First  Plow.  After  the  yoke  was  invented, 
some  clever  person  made  a  rude  plow  of  sharp  sticks 
tied  with  thongs,  and  agriculture  took  a  long  step 
forward,  because  this  enabled  the  farmer  to  use 
animal  power  to  till  the  soil,  instead  of  doing  it  all 
by  hand. 

•  Two  Kinds  of  Cattle.  Cattle  were  early  brought 
to  America  from  Europe.  Men  began  to  want  two 
kinds  of  cattle,  one  for  milk  and  butter  and  the 
other  for  beef.  They  found  that  a  good  milch  cow 
is  .not  very  good  for  beef,  for  her  food  all  goes  to 
milk;  while  a  fat  cow  will  not  give  much  milk,  as 
her  food  makes  flesh  or  muscle.  By  carefully  select- 
ing the  good  milkers  for  mothers,  farmers  have 
developed  a  fine  dairy  animal,  such  as  the  Jersey, 
the  Guernsey,  or  the  Holstein. 

Beef  Cattle.  Other  cattle  raisers  have  bred  from 
the  large,  heavy  animals  and  have  herds  of  fine  beef 
cattle,  such  as  the  Shorthorns  (Figs.  9  and  17), Here- 
fords,  or  Galloways  (Fig.  10).  The  beef  cow  is 
square,  with  all  bones  well  covered  w4th  flesh.  Her 
back  is  straight  and  her  legs  full  and  thick.  The 
neck  is  full  and  stocky,  the  legs  short  and  set  far 
apart  to  support  the  large,  heavy  body.  The  more 
meat  these  animals  can  make  from  a  given  amount 
of  food,  the  more  profitable  they  are. 

Their  Care  and  Feed.  Beef  cattle  need  different 
food  and  care  from  the  dairy  animals.     The  beef 


CATTLE 


19 


type  do  not  require  such  warm  barns  as  the  milkers 
do,  because  fat  animals  never  need  such  warm  hous- 
ing as  do  lean  ones.  They  seem  to  do  better  in  dry, 
open  sheds  that  are  well  bedded.  They  need  such 
foods  as  will  make  them  fat  most  quickly  and  at  the 
least  expense,  and  cattle  feeders  know  this  well. 


Fig.  10.    A  Galloway  cow. 


Getting  Ready  for  Market.  Sometimes  calves  are 
fed  fattening  foods  as  soon  as  they  can  digest  them. 
They  are  kej^t  on  such  food  until  they  are  ready  for 
the  market  at  from  ten  to  sixteen  months  of  age. 
Other  cattlemen  give  their  young  herd  the  freedom 
of  the  range  or  pasture  for  a  few  months,  or,  per- 
haps, for  a  year  or  two,  and  then  put  them  on  rich, 


20 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


^h'iu.   11.     An  empty  dinner  pail. 

fattening  foods  for  a  few  months  before  tliey  are 
Bold  to  the  butcher  or  the  packer. 

Feeding  MeaJ.  When  teaching  a  young  calf  to 
eat  meal,  the  farmer  puts  him  in  a  box  stall  with 
another,  older  calf, .  and  the  young  one  will  learn 
from  his  companion.  Another  way  is  to  take  a  little 
meal  in  the  hand  and  put  the  hand  in  the  mouth  of 
the  young  calf.     (Fig.  11.) 

A  Mixed  Food.  A  good  meal  ration  for  calves  is 
a  bushel  of  ground  corn,  a  bushel  of  ground  oats,  a 
peck  and  a  half  of  wheat  bran,  and  the  same  of  oil 
meal,  all  well  mixed.  As  soon  as  ,calves  will  take 
hay  or  fodder,  it  should  be  given  to  them.  They 
will  begin  to  nibble  and  taste  it  when  two  or  three 
weeks  old.  The  best  hay  is  clover,  alfalfa,  or  cow 
peas.  As  soon  as  they  begin  to  chew  the  cud,  finely 
cut  hay  is  mixed  with  the  meal.  In  this  way  one  cau 
prepare  the  calf  for  weaning.    (Fig.  12.) 


CATTLE 


2r 


Saving  Cream.  Wlien  calves  are  fed  on  skimmed 
milk  they  miss  the  butter-fat  that  has  been  taken 
away  as  cream.  In  its  place  the  farmer  feeds  the 
calf  some  corn  meal  or  linseed  meal.  One  or  two 
cents'  worth  of  meal  will  serve  the  calf  as  well  as 
twenty-five  cents'  worth  of  cream. 

Choosing  a  Good  Dairy  Cow.  The  dairy  cow  is 
shaped  like  a  wedge.  The  neck,  thighs,  and  shoul- 
ders are  thin  and  lean.  She  should  be  thin,  not 
because  she  is  poorly  fed,  but  because  she  is  turning 
a  large  part  of  the  feed  she  eats  into  milk.  She 
should  be  quiet  and  gentle.  She  should  be  strong 
and  have  room  for  a  large  quantity  of  food.  Her 
hips  are  prominent  and  wide  apart,  and  the  rump 
is  high.    The  hind  legs  are  trim  and  set  well  apart. 


i'iCi.    i—      ntttic   arc   oar   mothers? 


22 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


Most  important  of  all,  she  has  a  large,  well-shaped 
udder.  The  floor  of  the  udder  is  straight  and 
extends  well  forward  and  well  backward,  too.    The 


^^^^^^^^"^,^^ 

W^ 

i     ^ 

>']  jf^mm 

%  Wj^gf 

V. 

im  Immmm 

* 

1 

f] 

Fig.  13.     The  dairy  type  (Jerseys). 

udder  is  soft  and  fine.  The  teats  are  evenly  placed 
and  of  medium  size.  The  buyer  should  milk  out  a 
few  streams  to  see  that  the  openings  are  not  so 
small  as  to  make  her  a  hard  milker.  The  milk  veins 
which  extend  forward  from  the  udder  should  be 
large,  with  many  branches,  because  they  supply  the 
blood  from  which  the  udder  secretes  the  milk. 

The  Jersey  Type.  The  Jersey  cow  (Fig.  13)  is 
famous  the  world  over  for  her  rich  milk.  These 
cows  were  the  first  dairy  animals  to  become  popular 
in  our  country.  They  change  a  large  part  of  their 
food  into  milk  instead  of  into  flesh  or  fat.  Jersey 
milk  is  the  richest  of  all.    The  Jersey  heifer  matures 


CATTLE 


23 


oarly  and  may  become  a  mother  at  between  two  and 
three  years.  So  the  dairyman  does  not  have  to 
feed  her  long  until  she  more  than  pays  her  way. 
This  breed  came,  in  the  first  place,  from  Jersey 
Island,  in  the  English  Channel.  The  island  is  only 
eleven  miles  long  by  five  and  a  half  wide,  but  it  is 
very  rich  and  productive;  and  the  farms  there  are 
very  small,  sometimes  not  more  than  two  or  three 
acres.  The  principal  industry  is  dairying,  and  the 
stock  has  been  kept  pure  by  forbidding  foreign 
animals  to  be  brought  in.  The  milk  is  nearly  all 
made  into  butter. 

The  Guernseys.  The  Guernsey  cows,  like  the  Jer- 
seys, come  from  one  of  the  islands  by  that  name  in 
the  English  Channel.     They  are  somewhat  larger 


Fig.  14.     A  record  cow  (Holstcin). 


24        •  ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTURE 

than  the  Jerseys.  They  have  coarser  bones  and 
carry  more  flesh.  Guernseys  are  noted  for  their 
yellow  milk,  which  is  only  second  to  that  of  the 
Jersey  in  richness.  But  they  often  give  a  greater 
amount  than  the  Jersey. 

The  Holstein.  This  dairy  animal  was  bred  2,000 
years  ago  along  the  Ehine,  in  Europe.  The  Dutch 
first  brought  these  cows  to  America,  shortly  after 
the  settlement  of  New  Amsterdam.  The  Holstein 
(Figs.  14  and  107)  is  noted  for  the  great  amount  of 
milk  given.  ^  The  milk  is  not  so  rich  in  butter-fat 
as  that  of  the  Jersey  or  Guernsey,  but  the  large 
amount  makes  her  a  most  desirable  cow  to  keep 
near  large  cities  like  New  York,  where  the  milk  is 
sold  by  measure.  Other  noted  dairy  types  are  the 
Ayrshire,  the  Brown  Swiss  (Fig.  15),  and  the  Dutch 
Belted. 

The  Babcock  Milk  Test.  For  a  long  time  dairy- 
men did  not  know  how  to  choose  the  cows  which 
gave  the  richest  milk.  Not  many  years  ago  Dr. 
S.  M.  Babcock,  of  Wisconsin,  invented  a  machine 
to  test  milk  for  the  amount  of  butter-fat.  Now 
every  farmer  may  know  which  cows  are  valuable 
and  which  ones  are  not.  Eefer  to  page  247  for  full 
descriiJtion  of  the  Babcock  Milk  Test. 

What  a  Good  Cow  Produces.  A  good  cow  should 
produce  from  twelve  to  fifteen  pounds  of  butter  a 
week.  One  of  the  highest  records  ever  made  was 
by  a  Holstein  cow  that  made  thirty-three  pounds 
of  butter  in  one  week  (Fig.  14). 


CATTLE 


25 


Caring  for  the  Dairy  Cow.  Twice  eacli  day  the 
dairy  cow  is  driven  to  the  barn  to  be  milked,  and 
the  more  milk  she  gives  to  each  pound  of  food,  the 
more  valuable  she  is  (Fig.  16).  In  order  to  give 
an  abundance  of  milk,  she  must  have  the  best  of 
care  and  food,  and  kind  treatment;  and  she  must  be 
milked  at  regular  hours.  She  should  have  water 
and  plenty  of  good  fopd  at  every  meal  time. 

Their  Food.    In  summer,  when  the  cows  are  in 


Fig.  15.     Brown  Swiss  twin  calves,  hull  and  heifer. 


26 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


pasture,  they  need  very  little  other  food  .unless  the 
pasture  becomes  short  and  dry.  Then  corn,  alfalfa, 
peas,  oats,  rye,  or  some  other  crops  may  he  cut  green 
and  fed  to  them.  Water  and  shade  should  be  within 
reach  of  cows  at  all  times  in  hot  weather  (Fig.  1). 
In  winter  they  like  hay,  root  crops,  and  silage. 

A  Balanced  Feed.  It  is  best  to  feed  some  dry  hay 
or  fodder,  some  silage  or  green  food,  and  some 
grain.  The  careful  dairyman  always  feeds  just  the 
right  amount  of  each  to  supply  what  the  cows  need 
without  any  waste.  He  calls  this  a  '^balanced 
ration. ' ' 

Testing  Cows.  Some  pure-bred  cows  are  poor 
milkers.  The  only  way  to  make  sure  that  a  cow  is 
worth  her  board  is  to  test  her  milk  for  butter-fat 
and  weigh  the  milk.  Every  dairyman  should  keep 
a  record  of  each  cow  for  one  year.  A  spring  balance 
with  a  paper  beside  it  will  enable  the  farmer  to 
weigh  the  milk  and  put  down  the  amount  quickly. 

An  Easier  Way.  Or,  instead  of  weighing  the  milk 
every  day,  the  farmer  may  weigh  the  milk  of  each 


Fig.  16.     A   roiv  of  money  makers. 


CATTLE 


27 


cow  for  three  days  each  month.  The  sum  of  these 
weights  multiplied  by  ten  will  give  the  year's  pro- 
duction. Take  samples  for  the  Babcock  test  in  the 
second,  fourth,  and  seventh  months  after  the  cow 
freshens.  If  you  add  these  and  divide  by  three  you 
get  the  average  daily  production  of  butter-fat. 
Cow-testing  Associations.    Dairymen  who  find  it 


i'lG.    17.      A    Slun-ihoni    hull. 

difficult  to  test  their  own  cows  are  in  some  instances 
banding  together  in  cow-testing  associations.  To 
this  association  each  farmer  contributes  a  small  fee 
and  with  this  money  an  expert  is  employed  who 
spends  his  time  going  about  among  the  dairies  and 
testing  the  cows  of  each  herd.  This  plan  has  been 
used  in  Holland  for  many  years,  and  is  the  reason 
for  tlio  great  advance  in  the  dairy  business  in  that 


28  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

country.  Farmers  who  desire  to  form  such  an  asso-^ 
elation  should  write  to  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, who  will  send  a  man  to  assist  in  forming  the 
organization. 

Uses  Made  of  Beef  Cattle.  It  is  said  that  every 
grown  person  in  the  United  States  eats,  on  an  aver- 
age, one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  meat  in  a  year. 
The  greater  part  of  this  is  furnished  by  the  great 
herds  pastured  on  the  Western  plains.  Leather  for 
many  purposes  is  made  from  the  hides,  and  butter- 
ine  is  a  product  of  the  fat  or  tallow  of  beef.  Buttons 
are  made  from  the  bones ;  combs,  from  the  bones  and 
hoofs;  and  glue,  from  the  sinews,  bones,  and  hide 
trimmings. 

How  to  Get  Good,  Stock.  The  cheapest  way  for  a 
farmer  to  build  up  a  fine  herd  of  either  dairy  or 
beef  .cattle  is  to  save  only  the  calves  whose  father 
or  sire  is  a  pure-bred  animal.  (Fig.  17.)  There  is 
a  true  saying  among  stock  farmers  that  ^'The  sire 
is  half  the  herd.^^  The  way  to  improve  a  scrub 
herd  is  to  obtain  a  pure-bred  sire.  The  first  calves 
are  half  pure.  When  these  calves  become  cows  and 
mothers,  their  calves  are  three-fourths  pure  stock, 
and  so  on.  Scrub  cattle  have  no  place  in  the  fields 
of  a  good  farmer. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  If  men  had  to  choose  between  having  either  horses 
or  cattle  alone,  which  should  they  choose  and  why?  (2) 
How    do    you    think    butter    making    was     discovered? 

(3)  How   do   you   think   the    first   plow   was   invented? 

(4)  Name  the  chief  dairy  types? 


CHAPTER  111 
MILK  AND  BUTTER 

Milk  as  Food.  Milk  is  a  good  food  for  every  one. 
The  Laplander  milks  his  reindeer,  and  the  Arab  his 
camel.  The  people  of  India  milk  their  buffaloes,  and 
the  mountain  people  their  sheep.  A  quart  of  cow^s 
milk  contains  about  the  same  amount  of  food  as 
three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  beef.  Thus  we  see 
that  milk  is  cheaper  than  meat  or  eggs.  As  the 
cities  grow  there  is  a  greater  demand  for  milk,  but 
the  buyers  insist  that  it  be  clean. 

Keeping  Milk  Pure  and  Clean.  Milk  absorbs  or 
takes  up  odors'.  If  a  cow  is  fed  cabbage,  onions,  or 
turnips  a  few  hours  before  she  is  milked,  you  will 
notice  the  flavor  of  those  vegetables  in  the  milk. 
Milk  that  stands  uncovered  in  dirty  barns  has  the 
odor  of  the  stables.  Therefore,  the  barn  must  be 
clean  and  light,  with  plenty  of  windows  to  admit 
the  air,  and  the  cows  should  be  fed  proper  food. 
They  should  always  have  pure  water,  because  milk 
carries  many  germs,  especially  those  of  typhoid 
fever.  Feeding  should  be  done  after  milking,  so 
the  air  will  not  be  full  of  dust  to  settle  in  the  milk. 
Milking  the  Cows.  The  udders  of  the  cows  must 
be  washed,  and  the  milker's  clothing  and  hands 
should  be  clean  before  a  drop  is  drawn.  All  pails 
and  vats  for  holding  milk  should  be  thoroughly 

29 


30  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

washed  with  warm  suds  and  then  rinsed  with  scald- 
ing water.  As  soon  as  milk  is  drawn,  it  is  well  to 
cool  it  to  stop  the  growth  of  the  germs  that  cause 
it  to  sour. 

Butter-fat.  If  we  look  at  a  drop  of  milk  through 
a  microscope  we  shall  see  many  tiny,  roundish  bod- 
ies with  a  pearly  look  floating  in  the  fluid.  Fifteen 
thousand  to  twenty-five  thousand  of  these  little  bod- 
ies placed  side  by  side  will  measure  an  inch,  and 
there  are  millions  of  them  in  a  drop  of  milk.  These 
particles  are  the  fat  of  the  milk,  from  which  butter 
is  made.  They  are  lighter  than  milk,  and  when 
milk  stands  for  a  time  they  float  upward.  With 
some  of  the  milk  on  top  of  the  pan  they  form  the 
cream. 

Ready  to  Churn.  After  the  cream  is  removed  by  a 
skimmer  or  the  new  hand-separator,  it  should  stand 
until  it  ripens,  or  sours.  It  is  most  easily  churned 
at  a  temperature  of  from  fifty-six  to  sixty  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  The  room  should  be,  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible, the  same  temperature  as  the  cream. 

Churning.  When  this  cream  is  put  into  a  churn 
and  dashed  about,  the  little  particles  of  fat  hit  to- 
gether and  stick  to  one  another  until  they  unite  to 
form  small  pieces  of  butter  about  the  size  of  a  grain 
of  wheat.  Then  we  can  see  the  butter-fat  in  the 
buttermilk. 

Preparing  Butter  for  Market.  When  the  butter  is 
gathered  from  the  churn,  it  may  be  washed  to  remove 
part  of  the  buttermilk.    Then  the  whole  butter  mass 


MILK  AND  BUTTER 


31 


is  pressed  together  and  rolled  with  a  wooden  paddle 
to  remove  the  rest.  Three-fourths  of  an  ounce 
of  fine 
table  salt 
should 
be  added 
to  each 
pound  of 
1)  u  1 1  e  r 
and  even- 
ly worked 
into  the 

butter  ^^^'  ^^'     '^^^  ^^^  ^^y  ^f  separating  cream. 

mass  with  the  paddle.  The  worker  firmly  rolls  and 
presses  the  butter,  but  does  not  rub  it,  because  that 

destroys  the  grain.  When 
the  butter  is  free  from  but- 
termilk, it  can  be  made  into 
a  tempting  lump  and  stamp- 
ed and  rolled  in  oiled  paper. 
Butter  is  judged  for  its 
flavor,  color,  grain,  and  the 
amount  of  salt,  but  in  a 
great  measure  it  is  judged  by 
its  general  appearance. 

The  Churn.  Farmers,  to- 
day, prefer  the  barrel  churn, 
without  a  dasher.  In  opera- 
tion this  churn   throws  the 


I'k;.  1'.'.     'flir  new  way — 
cream   separator. 

cream  back  and  forth  against  its  sides.     Churns 


32  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

should  never  be  filled  more  than  half  full.  Butter- 
making  is  greatly  aided  in  late  years  by  the  use  of 
the  separator  and  butterworker  (Figs.  18  and  19). 

Cheese-making.  Cheese  may  be  made  from 
skimmed  milk,  or  the  whole  milk.  Most  of  the 
cheese  we  buy  at  the  store  is  made  from  the  whole 
milk.  Years  ago  our  grandmothers  made  cheese  as 
commonly  as  they  did  butter,  but  cheese-making  is 
such  a  long  process  that  to-day  it  is  done  in  cream- 
eries or  factories.  Cheese  is  the  solid  part  of  the 
milk  in  such  form  as  will  keep  for  long  periods.  A 
little  difference  in  the  process  of  the  making,  pro- 
duces a  different  sort  of  cheese.  One  book  tells  us  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty-six  different  kinds.  They  are. 
usually  found  in  three  classes — hard  or  soft  cheese, 
cream  cheese,  and  sage  cheese. 

Cottage  Cheese.  Cottage  cheese  is  a  home  prod- 
uct made  by  heating  sour  milk,  which  has  thickened, 
to  the  point  where  the  curd  separates  from  the  whey. 
The  whey  is  drained  off  through  a  cheesecloth,  and 
the  dry  curds  are  seasoned  with  cream  and  salt. 
A  great  deal  of  this  is  sold  on  the  market  for  table 
use. 

By-products.  The  by-products  of  the  dairy  are 
skimmed  milk,  buttermilk,  and  whey.  These  are 
chiefly  used  in  feeding  young  animals  on  the  farm, 
because  it  costs  less  to  ship  fat  stock  than  it  does 
feed  or  milk.  The  curd  of  the  milk  is  dried  in  large 
factories  and  ground  fine  and  used  in  the  sizing  of 
paper.    Milk  sugar  is  made  largely  from  whey.  This 


MILK  AND  BUTTER  33 

is  much  used  for  babies  and  invalids.  Other  foods 
and  drinks  which  are  becoming  popular  are  made 
from  the  dairy.  Up  to  1850  the  dairy  work  was  all 
done  and  marketed  from  the  farm.  Now  the  milk  is 
largely  taken  to  creameries  and  factories,  and  butter, 
cheese,  and  condensed  milk  are  manufactured  there. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  How  do  you  judge  a  dairy  cow?  (2)  Which  cow 
would  you  keep  for  butter  making  and  which  for  sell- 
ing milk?  (3)  What  kind  is  most  common  in  your 
neighborhood?  (4)  Would  it  pay  better  to  keep  a  dif- 
ferent kind?  (5)  Why  is  the  Babcock  test  a  great  in- 
vention? (6)  What  is  a  balanced  feed?  (7)  How 
would  you  test  a  cow  to  decide  if  she  were  worth  keep- 
ing? (8)  How  would  you  proceed  to  develop  a  fine 
herd  of  cattle?  (9)  Which  dairy  type  do  you  like  best? 
(10)  Why?  (11)  What  other  animals  are  sometimes 
kept  for  their  milk?  (12)  Which  is  the  cheaper  food, 
milk  or  beef?  (13)  How  does  milk  sometimes  spread 
disease?  (14)  What  is  butter-fat?  (15)  How  is  butter 
made?  (16)  What  makes  the  difference  in  cheese?  (17) 
Name  some  other  uses  for  milk.  (18)  Make  questions 
of  your  own  for  use  in  class. 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments,  refer  to  the 
Appendix. 


CHAPTER  IV 
SHEEP 

Wild  Sheep  of  Asia.  On  the  plains  of  Asia  there 
may  be  seen  to-day  small  flocks  of  wild  sheep.  They 
are  larger  than  our  common  sheep,  with  such  im- 
mense horns  that  it  would  require  a  foot  line  to  reach 
around  one  at  its  root  and  a  four-foot  line  to  measure 
their  length.  The  wool  of  the  wild  sheep  is  brown, 
with  a  buff-colored  streak  along  the  back.  These 
wild  sheep  are  strong,  quick,  and  suspicious,  so  they 
are  very  hard  to  catch.  They  are  hunted  for  their 
flesh  and  their  skins,  which  are  made  into  clothing. 
They  have  a  coat  of  fine  soft  wool  to  keep  them 
warm,  and  over  this  is  a  long  coarse  hair,  which 
serves  as  a  raincoat. 

Another  Kind  of  Wild  Sheep.  In  the  mountains 
of  Greece  is  another  type  of  wild  sheep,  smaller  and 
less  active  than  those  of  Asia.  It  is  believed  that 
our  domestic  sheep  have  come  from  one  or  the  other, 
or  perhaps  both,  of  these  wild  types. 

Taming  the  Sheep.  Some  writers  think  the  sheep 
was  tamed  before  the  horse  or  cow,  because  they 
were  small  and  could  not  defend  themselves  so  well. 
Sheepskins  made  fine  clothing  for  the  cave  man. 
The  first  animal  we  find  mentioned  in  the  Bible  is 
the  sheep,  but  the  Bible  mentions  other  domestic 
animals. 

34 


SHEEP  35 

Where  Sheep  Live.  The  sheep  can  live  on  rough 
hillsides  and  mountain  cliffs  where  other  domestic 
animals  would  starve.  They  thrive  best  in  cool  cli- 
mates, because  of  their  heavy  coats  of  wool.  They 
require  less  grain  and  will  eat  more  kinds  of  food 
than  the  horse  or  cow.  So  they  are  more  easily 
cared  for  (Fig.  20). 

The  Use  of  Sheep.  A  flock  of  sheep  increases  very 
rapidly,  for  ewes,  or  mother  sheep,  often  bear  twin 


Fk:.  1^0,     A   (,ood  animal  cats  no  mjrc  hut  pajs  heticr. 

lambs  every  year.  The  lamb"S  become  full-grown  in 
a  few  months,  and  their  flesh  makes  excellent  food, 
while  the  fleeces  make  woolen  clothes  for  the  people 
of  many  lands.  When  prices  of  wool  are  fair,  a 
good  ewe  will  pay  her  board  and  keep  through  the 
year  with  her  fleece.  The  flesh  of  the  sheep  is  worth 
about  half  as  much  as  the  wool.  If  she  raises  two 
lambs  they  are  clear  gain  to  the  farmer.  Sheep 
have  no  equal  as  weed-destroyers,  for  they  eat 
nearly  every  weed  that  grows  on  the  farm.  In  small 
numbers  they  build  up  and  enrich  the  land,  for 
sheep  manure  is  worth  more  as  a  fertilizer  than 


36 


ELEMENTAEY  AGKICULTURE 


Tig.  21.     A  Merino  ram. 


that  of  any  other  farm  animal  except  poultry.    A 
few  sheep  will  pay  their  way  and  make  money  for 

their  owner  on  any 
farm  that  is  not  wet 
and  marshy.  They 
will  not  thrive  on 
low,  moist  land. 
Aside  from  their 
fleece  and  mutton,  the 
bones  are  used  for 
fertilizer.  The  skins 
make  leathei*  for 
boots  and  shoes.  The 
tallow  is  made  into 
candles,  and  the  skins  of  the  intestines  are  made  into 
strings  for  musical  instruments. 

Two  Kinds  of  Sheep.  We  raise  two  types  of 
sheep,  because  those  that  produce  the  best  wool  do 
not  make  the  best  mutton.  If  a  farmer  is  raising 
sheep  for  mutton  mainly,  he  keeps  a  herd  of  Shrop- 
shires  or  Southdowns  or  some  other  mutton  type. 
If  he  is  chiefly  interested  in  growing  fine  wool,  he 
keeps  American  Merinos  or  some  breed  like  them. 

Merinos  for  Wool.  The  oldest  races  of  the  domes- 
ticated sheep  are  probably  the  Merinos  (Fig.  21). 
They  were  Very  likely  kept  in  Palestine  in  Bible 
times,  and  it  may  be  that  King  David  when  a  lad 
kept  watch  over  a  flock  of  Merinos.  They  came  to 
America  from  Spain  and  have  been  greatly  im- 
proved by  American  farmers.     They  are  the  best 


SHEEP 


37 


wool-producers,  yielding  heavy  fleeces  of  very  fine 
wool  that  is  used  to  make  the  finest  and  most 
expensive  vroolen  goods. 

Thrive  in  Large  Flocks.  Though  the  Merinos  are 
not  so  hardy  as  the  wild  sheep,  they  are  hardier 
than  any  other  of  the  domestic  breeds.  They  will 
thrive  in  larger  flocks  than  any  other  kinds,  so  they 
are  used  in  the  range  country  of  the  West.  They 
have  a  long  life  and  grow  good  fleeces  to  a  ripe  old 
age,  w^liile  the  fleece  of  the  mutton  type  begins  to 
lose  in  weight  at  an  early  age.  Sheep  on  ranches 
of  our  Western  states  are  kept  a  thousand  or  two 
thousand  in  a  flock  and  sent  off  in  the  summer  with 
a  herder  and  a  shepherd  dog.  If  the  herder  has  a 
horse,  he  sometimes  cares  for  five  thousand  in  a 
flock.  One  rancher  often  owns  from  twenty-five 
thousand  to  fifty  thousand  sheep.  The  cattle  men 
object  to  large  flocks  of  sheep,  for  they  eat  the  grass 
so  close  that  other  ani- 
mals cannot  be  grazed 
there.  Cattle  also  dis- 
like the  odor  left  by 
sheep. 

The  Shepherd  Dog. 
The  shepherd  dog,  or 
collie,  tends  the  flock 
and  rounds  them  up 
when  they  stray.  Ho 
watches  them  at  night  and  keeps  off  the  mountain 
lions.    These  dogs  are  very  intelligent.    They  obey 


38  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

the  voices  and  spoken  commands  of  their  masters, 
and  even  understand  signals  of  the  arms. 

Care  and  Fleeces  of  Sheep.  The  Merinos  stand 
more  neglect  than  other  sheep.  They  can  get 
through  the  winter  on  good  straw,  a  little  grain, 
and  some  hill  pasture.  However,  their  mutton  is 
only  fair,  and  they  do  not  raise  as  many  lambs  as 
other  breeds.  Their  bodies  are  covered  with  large 
folds  or  wrinkles  of  skin  that  make  shearing  diffi- 
cult, but  these  very  wrinkles  only  make  so  much 
more  surface  for  good  wool  to  grow  on. 

Sheep  for  Mutton.  Shropshires  and  Southdowns 
are  the  best  liked  of  the  mutton  types  in  America. 
The  Shropshires  (Fig.  22)  have  nearly  black  faces 
and  legs,  and  no  horns.  They  rear  more  lambs  than 
other  kinds,  but  their  wool  is  not  so  fine  as  that  of 
the  Merinos.  Mutton  sheep  are  profitable  even  on 
high-priced  land,  if  it  is  near  a  good  market.  Fancy 
lamb  mutton  is  a  delicac}^  that  people  like  and  are 
willing  to  pay  for.  Southdown  ewes  usually  rear 
two  lambs  each  year,  and  they  are  good  mothers. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  Where  did  the  forefathers  of  our  sheep  come  from? 
(2)  Have  you  any  reasons  for  believing  that  the  sheep 
was  tamed  before  ths  cow  or  horse?  (3)  Could  you 
think  of  a  reason  why  sheep  will  not  thrive  on  a  wet  or 
swampy  farm?  (4)  Which  of  the  mutton  types  do  you 
like  best?  (5)  Why?  (6)  Are  Merinos  raised  in  your 
county?     (7)    Why,  or  why  not? 

For  problems  and  experiments  refer  to  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  V 


SWINE 


Improving  the  Hog.  Hogs,  like  most  other  do- 
mestic animals,  were  brought  to  America  from 
Europe.  Most  of  the  breeds  of  fat  hogs  have 
developed  here.  By  carefully  choosing  and  keeping 
the  best  hogs  the  farmers  have  made  the  fine  breeds 
of  to-day  quite  different  from  the- fierce  wild  boar. 
The  wild  hog  did  not  take  on  fat,  but  our  domestic 
breeds  will  fatten  in  a  remarkably  short  time. 

The  hog  yields  meat  at  a  lower  cost  than  any 
other  animal  when  he  is  well  cared  for  and  prop- 
erly fed.  Intelligent  farmers  do  not  raise  scrub 
hogs,  which  are  sometimes  called  ^^ razor  backs.'' 
It  takes  two  years  to  get  a  scrub  to  weigh  as  much 
as  a  well-bred  pig  will  weigh  when  nine  months 
old.  If  a  farmer  has  only  scrub  stock  he  can 
improve  his  herd  in  a  very  few  years  by  the  use 
of  a  well-bred  sire. 
Among  the  standard 
breeds  of  hogs  popu- 
lar on  the  great  hog 
farms  of  the  Central 
West  are  the  York- 
shire,     Tamworth,  '*'<••  '^'^-     '  '''"  ^^'"^  p^h- 

Cheshire,  Berkshire,  Chester-White,  Duroc-Jersey, 
and  Poland-China.     (Figs.  23,  24,  25,  and  26.) 

39 


40 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


The  Bacon  Type.  There  are  two  different  kinds, 
or  types  of  hogs.  The  people  of  Canada,  and  espe- 
cially of  England,  like  hacon  with  considerable  lean 
meat  in  it.  This  can  only  come  from  swine  which 
have  well  developed  muscles.  And  so  hog  raisers 
have  brought  forth  a  lengthy,  muscular  animal 
called  the  bacon  type,  such  as  the  Yorkshires  and 
Tamworths.    It  costs  more  to  raise  the  bacon  type. 

The  Lard  Type.  In  our  great  corn  belt  it  has 
been  found  that  a  fine  type  of  fat  hogs  can  be  raised 
chiefly  on  corn,  which  is  cheap  food.  So  farmers 
have  developed  a  fat  hog  type  or  lard  variety. 
This  type  has  small  bones,  a  short,  round  body, 
and  short  legs. 

Berkshires.  There  are  several  breeds  of  fat  hogs 
that  are  popular,  one  of  which  is  the  Berkshire. 
The  Berkshire  hog  is  a  fine  lard-type  animal  usu- 
ally black  with  white  marks  on  the  face,  feet,  and 
tail.     Berkshires  are  found  in  every  state  but  are 


Fig.  24.     Berkshires  on  clover. 


SWINE 


41 


Fig,  25.     Chester-White  sows  and  pigs. 


very  numerous  in  the  com  belt.  They  grow  rapidly 
and  fatten  easily.  Berkshire  mothers  have  large 
families  and  take  good  care  of  them.     (Fig.  24.) 

Chester- Whites.  Another  popular  breed  of  the 
fat  hog  type  is  the  Chester- White.  They  are  of 
medium  size  and  white,  no  black  hairs  being 
allowed  in  the  pure  breeds,  and  the  hair  is  often 
curly.  They  were  developed  in  Chester  County, 
Pennsylvania,  by  mixing  several  other  breeds  of 
hogs.  Chester- Whites  are  good  grazers  and  the 
sows  have  large  litters  of  pigs.      (Fig.   25.) 

Duroc-Jerseys.  Duroc-Jerseys  are  another  Amer- 
ican breed  of  the  fat  hog  type.  They  are  about  the 
size  of  the  Chester- White.  Duroc-Jerseys  are  cherry 
red  in  color,  but  sometimes  yellowish  reds  and  chest- 
nut shades  are  seen.    We  do  not  know  just  how  they 


42 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


originated,  but  different  breeds  of  red  liogs  were 
common  many  years  ago  in  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  and  these  were  brought  together  and 
blended.  Red  hogs  are  common  in  the  corn  states. 
They  are  good  grazers  and  put  on  flesh  easily  and 
cheaply.  They  are  liked  because  they  have  large 
litters  and  because  they  reach  good  size  and  weight. 
They  thrive  well  when  following  a  herd  of  fatten- 
ing cattle. 

Poland- China.     Another  fat  hog  is  the  Poland- 
China.      (Fig.   26.)      They  are  usually  black  with 


Fkt.  26.     A   prize  Poland  Cliina. 


white  markings  on  the  face.  The  breed  was  first 
known  in  Ohio  where  in  the  early  days  the  pre- 
vailing color  was  white.  Poland-Chinas  are  great 
favorites  in  the  corn  states,  because  they  seem  to 
do  better  on  corn  alone  than  any  other  breed.  For 
the   purpose    of   turning    corn    into    pork    Poland- 


SWINE  43 

Chinas  are  unequalled.  They  make  good  gains  on 
pasture  with  light  grain  ration,  and  mature  early. 
Their  litters  are  not  so  large  as  those  of  the 
Duroc-Jerseys  which  is  a  mark  against  the  breed. 

Feeding.  The  first  thing  to  think  of  in  feeding 
hogs  is  a  balanced  ration.  The  most  important  part 
of  this  ration  is  the  protein  and  as  most  feeds  on 
the  farm  are  short  in  protein  this  must  be  supplied. 
The  easiest  way  to  provide  the  protein  for  hogs  is 
to  grow  large  forage  crops  like  alfalfa  or  clover. 
Milk  and  bran  are  rich  in  protein.  To  balance  the 
protein,  corn  is  the  cheapest  and  best  food.  It  fur- 
nishes heat  and  fat.  Corn  and  alfalfa  or  corn  and 
clover  is,  perhaps,  the  easiest  balanced  ration  to 
provide,  especially  in  the  corn  belt.  Corn,  alone 
is  not  rich  enough  in  protein  for  the  best  results, 
but  it  is  often  used  for  a  few  weeks  immediately 
before  a  herd  is  shipped  to  market,  to  make  w^eight. 

The  hog  must  also  have  plenty  of  pure  water. 
Pigs  need  more  water  than  older  hogs  in  propor- 
tion to  their  size.  Charcoal,  lime,  ashes,  and  salt 
should  always  be  in  reach  to  provide  the  mineral 
food  which  the  animal  needs.  Pigs  need  room  to 
exercise  for  the  sake  of  their  digestion.  For  this 
reason  it  is  better  to  let  them  forage  for  part  of 
tlieir  food.      (Fig.   27.) 

Hogs  on  Pasture.  By  far  the  greatest  number 
of  hogs  are  fattened  for  market  in  the  summer  and 
early  fall.  The  care  and  labor  is  less  then  and  the 
gain  in  flesh  greater.     Pigs  need  more  feed  in  cold 


44  ELEMENTARY  AGRIGULTURE 


Fig.  27.     Good  feeders. 

weather  just  as  people  do.  Pigs  do  well  on  pasture. 
We  have  learned  that  pigs  fed  on  corn  alone  on 
blue  grass  pasture  gain  weight  as  rapidly  as  if 
they  were  fed  a  carefully  balanced  ration  in  a  dry 
lot.  But  clover  or  alfalfa  is  better  than  blue  grass 
or  timothy  pasture.  (Fig.  24.)  Corn  fed  on  clover 
pasture  is  better  than  the  more  costly  feed  of  corn 
and  shorts  in  parts  of  two  to  one  in  a  dry  lot. 

Coarse,  bulky  foods  do  not  suit  hogs  well.'  Wheat 
bran,  corn-and-cob  meal  and  oat  feed  are  too  bulky 
to  give  the  best  results.  It  has  been  proven  that 
com  soaked  from  one  feeding  time  to  the .  next  is 
more  easily  digested. 

Rooting.  Hogs  relish  herbs,  roots,  grubs,  and 
mineral  elements  and  they  like  to  root  for  them 
in  the  soil.  Eooting  is  good  exercise  for  hogs, 
but  it  destroys  grass  and  forage  crops  and  the 
habit  once  acquired  is  difficult  to  eradicate.  Hogs 
will  do  less  rooting  if  fed  wood  ashes,  charcoal, 
grit,  and  salt;  but  even  then  they  are  likely  to  root 
up  the  soil  in  cool,  shady  places.     Often  it  is  neces- 


'  SWINE  45 

sary  to  put  rings  in  their  noses  but  they  should  not 
be  put  in  too  deep. 

Yards.  A  hog  farm  should  be  fenced  hog  tight 
to  keep  the  herd  from  those  of  the  neighbors  and 
to  protect  crops.  Young  hogs  need  yards  large 
enough  to  furnish  pasture  and  forage.  Ten  or  fif- 
teen pigs  are  enough  for  a  four-acre  lot  of  clover 
or  alfalfa.  The  forage  not  eaten  if  mowed  two  or 
three  times  a  year  brings  forth  a  fresh  new  crop 
of  tender  growth  and  keeps  the  herd  well  fed. 

Fencing.  "Wire  fencing  is  much  used.  The  posts 
of  cedar  or  of  hedge  are  generally  treated  with 
creosote  to  prevent  water  soaking  and  decay.  They 
will  last  from  eight  to  ten  years.  A  better  post 
may  be  made  of  concrete  for  a  cost  of  twenty-five 
cents  apiece.  The  comers  of  the  fences  should  be 
well  braced  and  a  barbed  wire  placed  beneath  the 
woven  wire  to  keep  the  herd  from  rooting  and 
crawling  under.  Gates  should  be  of  plank  or  steel 
frames  with  woven  wire  and  safe  fastenings. 

Sheds  and  Shelter.  Some  farmers  depend  on 
large  open  sheds  to  shelter  their  herds.  Such  sheds 
should  have  tight  roofs,  sides  and  ends.  The  south 
side  is  left  open  for  air  and  sunshine.  This  is 
especially  suitable  for  warm  climates  though  not 
for  the  Northern  states.  The  sheds  should  have 
partitions  to  prevent  the  hogs  from  piling  up-  too 
much  on  cold  nights  when  they  get  overheated  and 
catch  cold  afterward.  They  are  apt  to  have  a  lung 
disease  which  is  mistaken  for  cholera. 


46 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


Fig.  28.     The  Colony  type  of  hog  house  uith  chain  and  single  tree 

for  hauling. 


Hog  Houses.  Houses  differ  according  to  climate. 
In  the  warmer  states  the  breeders  use  small  mov- 
able hog  houses  large  enough  for  a  mother  and  her 
family.  (Fig.  28.)  These  houses  are  scattered 
about  over  the  farm.  This  is  known  as  the  colony 
system.  The  great  advantage  of  this  system  is 
that  the  hogs  are  separated  in  small  families  and 
if  disease  breaks  out  only  a  few  are  exposed.  These 
may  be  taken  to  a  distant  part  of  the  farm  and  in 
case  of  cholera  the  house  may  be  burned  with  little 
loss. 

The  more  convenient  plan  is  the  large  central 
hog  house  which  saves  much  time  in  feeding  and 
care.     Such   a  house  has   a  place   for  sleeping,   a 


SWINE 


47 


separate  place  for  small  pigs  and  another  for  fat- 
tening hogs.  Such  hog  houses  are  made  in  many 
forms.  Some  are  round,  others  square  or  rectan- 
gular. (Fig.  29.)  In  any  case  all  buildings  should 
be  warm  and  dry  with  plenty  of  light  and  air. 
(Farmer's  Bulletin  438 — Hog  Houses.) 

Diseases.  The  two  most  common  diseases  of  hogs 
are  tuberculosis  and  hog  cholera.  Hogs  get  the 
germs  of  tuberculosis  through  their  food.  Pigs  fed 
on  the  refuse  from  dairies  and  cheese  factories  get 
the  germs  from  infected  cows. 

Hog  cholera  is  sometimes  called  swine  fever 
because  a  fever  always  accompanies  the  disease. 
Frequently  the  hogs. die  very  suddenly  after  a  few 
hours,  other  forais  allow  the  animal  to  live  several 


Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 
KiG.  2'J.     A  tcell-built  and  well-arranged  central  hog  house,  showing 
arrangement  of  outside  pens. 


48  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

days.  Hogs  that  have  cholera  are  stupid  and  life- 
less and  refuse  to  move.  They  lie  huddled  together 
or  retire  to  a  corner  of  the  pen.  Some  will  eat 
while  others  will  not.  No  cure  for  hog  cholera  has 
been  found  except  anti-cholera  serum.  (Farmer's 
Bulletin  379  tells  how  to  prevent  hog  cholera.) 

There  are  other  diseases  such  as  mange,  paraly- 
sis, and  black  tooth.  The  most  satisfactory  way  to 
give  medicine  to  hogs  is  in  their  food,  but  it  is 
always  a  good  plan  to  know  how  to  prevent  disease 
in  the  first  place. 

Lice.  If  the  herd  is  troubled  with  lice  the  hogs 
may  be  dipped  in  a  coal  tar  disinfectant  to  be  had 
at  the  drug  store.  Directions  for  using  it  are  also 
given.  In  summer  crude  oil  may  be  poured  on  the 
water  in  the  wallow.  This  will  cling  to  the  hogs 
and  kill  the  lice  without  injury  to  the  hog.  Gunny 
sacks  soaked  in  crude  oil  may  be  wrapped  around 
a  rubbing  post  in  the  hog  lot. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  In  what  ways  do  our  hogs  differ  from  the  wild 
boar?  (2)  How  has  this  change  come  about?  (3)  What 
protection  do  hogs  need ?  (4)  Why?  (5)  Which  breeds 
do  you  find  in  your  county?  (6)  How  do  the  East 
and  West  differ  in  hog  raising  ?  (7 )  Where  in  your  county 
are  most  of  the  hogs  raised?  (8)  Name  the  chief  breeds  of 
bacon  and  lard  hogs  and  tell  why  they  are  popular. 
(9)  Discuss  hog  houses.  (10)  Tell  what  you  can  about 
diseases  of  hogs. 


CHAPTER  VI 
POULTRY 

The  Original  Home  of  Poultry.  Our  chickens 
have  probably  come  from  the  wild  jungle  fowl  of 
India.  Early  man  used  to  snare  and  kill  these  large 
wild  birds  for  food  and  rob  their  nests,  because  he 
liked  the  eggs  to  eat.  When  men  settled  down  and 
gave  up  their  wandering  life,  they  tamed  and  fed 
the  jungle  fowl.  In  time  their  wings  grew  smaller, 
because  they  used  them  so  much  less,  and  their 
bodies  grew  heavier.  So  to-day  we  have  the  con- 
tented hens  that  stay  quietly  in  their  pens  and 
cackle  to  let  us  know  when  they  have  an  ^gg  ready. 

Value  of  Fowls  to  the  Farmer.  Since  the  farmer 
has  learned  in  the  last  few  years  to  take  better  care 
of  his  poultry,  it  is  now  thought  that  they  pay  better 
for  what  they  eat  than  any  other  stock  on  the  farm. 
There  is  a  great  demand  for  *' broilers"  from  ten  to 
twelve  weeks  old,  and  they  bring  fancy  prices.  The 
number  of  eggs  used  in  the  United  States  daily  is 
beyond  our  imagination.  It  is  estimated  at  about 
forty-four  millions.  Besides  supplying  eggs  and 
meat  for  the  farmer's  use,  the  chickens,  if  they  are 
allowed  to  roam,  catch  many  grasshoppers  and  in- 
sects. During  the  summer  months  they  get  most 
of  their  food  on  the  range.  They  like  grass,  seeds, 
bugs,  lime,  and  grit. 

49 


50 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


Four  Classes.  Chickens  have  been  divided  into 
four  classes.  The  large,  fat,  meat-producing  kind 
does  not  lay  well.  They  are  the  Cochins  and 
Brahmas  (Fig.  30).  The  Leghorns  and  Minorcas 
are  especially  valuable  for  producing  eggs.  They 
are  a  small,  wiry  sort  with  large  combs.  They  lay 
large,  white  eggs  and  seldom  want  to  hatch  them, 
so  they  can  be  kept  laying  for  long  periods.  Their 
flesh  is  not  so  excellent  for  the  table  as  other  breeds, 
but  they  are  very  popular  among  poultry  keepers 
near  large  cities  where  fancy  prices  are  paid  for 
eggs.  The  fancy  or  game  chickens  are  beautifully 
feathered  birds  and  are  kept  for  show.  To  this  class 
belongs  the  bantam  that  is  too  small  for  real  use. 

But  certain  breeds  combine  the  best  qualities  of 
the  layers  and  the  fat  chickens.    They  are  the  gen- 


FiG.  30.     Light  Brahmas. 


POULTRY 


51 


eral  purpose  fowls  that  have  nice  tender  meat. 
They  both  lay  well  and  make  good  mothers.  To  this 
class  belong  the  differ- 
ent kinds  of  Plymouth 
Rocks  (Figs.  31  and 
32),  Wyandottes  and 
Rhode  Island  Reds. 
These  breeds  are  all 
developed  in  Americ:^. 

Habits.  Chickens 
swallow  their  food 
whole.  It  is  softened 
in  the  crop  and  ground 
up  in  the  stomach,  or 
gizzard,  the  walls  of 
which  are  hard  and 
muscular.  Fowls  tip 
their  heads  back  to  swallow  when  they  take  a  beak 
full  of  water,  because  they  have*  no  muscle  in  their 
throats.  Chickens  wallow  or  take  a  dust  bath  to 
drive  away  insects  or  clean  their  skins;  and  in  wet 
weather  they  oil  their  feathers  so  they  will  shed 
water  well  and  so  keep  their  skin  dry. 

The  Nests.  A  hen  will  Jiide  her  eggs,  if  possible, 
so  a  cozy  place  should  be  arranged  in  a  quiet,  dark 
place  for  her  nest.  She  begins  to  lay  in  the  spring, 
one  egg  each  day.  If  left  to  herself,  she  would 
commence  to  sit  as  soon  as  she  had  twelve  or  fif- 
teen  egga.  By  removing  the  eggs  she  is  kept  laying 
a  much  longer  time.     The  breeds  that  do  not  sit 


Fig.  31.     Barred  Bock. 


POULTEY  53 

have  been  known  to  lay  as  many  as  two  hundred 
lliirty  eggs  in  a  year. 

Poultry  in  Pens.  Chickens  that  have  free  range 
are  more  profitable  and  do  better  than  those  kept  in 
pens.  But  fowls  can  be  kept  under  many  .conditions. 
To  do  well  they  must  have  reasonably  warm,  dry 
quarters  with  plenty  of  light  and  fresh  air.  In  parts 
of  the  West,  where  it  is  dry,  a  frame  of  poles  is  set 
up  in  November  and  covered  with  straw.  The 
chickens  run  inside  this  warm  shelter  and  do  well. 
If  a  hen  is  protected  from  draughts,  frost,  lice,  and 
bad  air  she  is  likely  to  think  spring  has  come  in 
February  and  will  begin  early  laying,  or  perhaps 
she  will  lay  all  winter.  Some  breeds  lay  well  in  the 
winter  time  when  they  have  good  care. 

Care  of  Henhouse.  Farmers  should  clean  up  their 
old  henhouses  with  a  shovel,  broom,  and  boiling 
water.  They  should  paint  the  roosts  with  kerosene 
to  kill  lice,  and  whitewash  the  walls.  The  cracks 
can  be  stuffed  with  straw  and  covered  with  tarred 
paper.  Very  soon  the  farmer  will  see  his  hens  doing 
better.  Leaves  or  straw  make  a  fine  floor  covering, 
and  they  force  the  fowls  to  scratch  for  the  grain. 
The  house  should  be  kept  clean  and  fresh  leaves  or 
straw  ])ut  in  each  week.     (Fig.  33.) 

Laying  Hens.  Laying  hens  require  different  food 
from  those  intended  for  table  use.  Variety  of  food 
is  important.  One  reason  the  hen  lays  in  summer 
is  because  she  chooses  her  own  food  and  has  a  bal- 
anced ration.    She  eats  all  day  long,  a  little  at  a 


54  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

time,  and  does  not  mope.  A  moping  hen  does  not 
lay  well,  as  exercise  is  necessary.  Chickens  in  a 
pen  need  animal  food,  such  as  meat  scraps  and 
skimmed  milk,  to  take  the  place  of  the  insects  that 
they  get  when  they  are  allowed  to  roam.  Cracked 
oj^ster  shell  furnishes  lime  for  making  the  eggshell, 
and  grit  must  be  provided  for  grinding  their  food. 
Fresh  water  in  clean  dishes  should  always  be  within 
reach.  During  the  winter  season,  corn  may  be  given 
once  a  day  because  it  is  a  warming  food.  Ground 
bone,  table  scraps,  cooked  potatoes,  turnips,  and 
vegetable  tops  are  given  instead  of  green  food. 
Eggs,  like  milk,  often  show  by  their  color,  flavor, 
and  odor  what  food  the  hens  eat. 

Hatching  Little  Chicks.  Hen's  eggs  are  hatched 
by  keeping  them  at  the  same  warm  temperature  for 
twenty-one  days.  Many  farmers  prefer  the  hen  to 
incubators  for  hatching.  Perfect-shaped  eggs  with 
good  firm  shells  should  be  selected  for  hatching. 
The  fresher  they  are  the  better.  When  two  broods 
of  chicks  are  hatched  at  the  same  time,  one  hen 
may  be  able  to  mother  both. 

Haw  to  Care  for  the  Brood.  Little  chickens  must 
be  kept  dry  and  must  be  carefully  fed  three  times 
a  day.  Corn  meal  and  bread  crumbs  and  the  yolk 
of  hard-boiled  eggs  are  a  good  beginning.  If  chicks 
are  in  a  pen,  cut  grass  from  the  lawn  makes  good 
green  food.  Soon  a  little  chicken  will  eat  wheat 
and  cracked  ,corn.  Chicken  lice  are  a  great  trouble 
to  the  tiny  chicks  and  the  mother  hen,  and  the  nest 


POULTRY 


55 


li. 


I  .sdhiturif  poult r;/  Jtou.sr. 


should  be  dusted  with  powder  a  week  before  tlie 
chickens  are  liatched.  Some  of  tlie  powder  may  be 
mixed  with  lard  and  rubbed  well  on  each  chicken's 
head. 

Brooder    Chicks.     Incubator    chickens    have    no 
niotlicj'  1()  Icac'li  ilioni  to  (»al    srnt  niul  irroon  stuff 


56  ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTUKE 

When  chicks  are  first  brought  to  the  brooder,  bread 
crumbs  are  sprinkled  upon  the  floor  among  the  grit, 
and  in  this  way  they  learn  to  take  food  and  grit  at 
the  same  time.     To  make  them  eat  promptly,  the 


Fig.  34.     Incubator  babies. 

food  may  be  taken  away  after  five  minutes.     (Fig. 
34.) 

Fattening  Broilers.  When  the  chickens  are 
weaned  from  the  hen,  the  cockerels  are  put  in  a 
yard  by  themselves  and  fed  on  porridge  made  of 
four  parts  of  corn  meal,  two  parts  of  middlings,  and 
one  part  beef  scrap.  The  mixture  is  wet  with 
skimmed  milk  until  it  will  run  from  a  wooden  spoon. 
They  are  fed  this  at  morning  and  at  evening.  They 
are  allowed  plenty  of  shade  and  kept  as  quiet  as 


POULTRY  57 

possible.  This  makes  them  more  meaty  and  soft 
than  those  that  exercise.  Chickens  about  a  hundred 
days  old  gain  the  most  rapidly.  They  often  gain 
from  one  and  three-fourths  to  two  and  one-fourth 
pounds  in  a  month.  "When  cockerels  weigh  two 
pounds  or  over  they  should  be  sold  for  broilers. 

Poultry  Pests.  Hawks  capture  many  chicks.  A 
good  marksman  can  kill  a  few  and  hang  them  on 
poles  around  the  yard  as  an  object  lesson.  The 
best  remedy  is  to  keep  the  chicks  in  yards  covered 
with  wire  until  they  are  large  enough  to  run  for 
shelter.  It  is  well  to  have  low-growing  shrubs 
where  chickens  can  hide.  If  pigs  run  in  the  same 
field  with  chickens  they  must  be^watched,  for  if  a 
pig  once  gets  a  taste  of  chicken,  he  will  chase  them 
continually.  Eats  trouble  chicks  at  night.  Cement 
floors  and  stone  foundations  in  chicken  houses  will 
keep  out  rats.  Poison  may  be  used  if  it  can  be  kept 
away  from  the  chickens. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  Which  do  you  thmk  will  pay  better  on  the  farm, 
the  Leghorns  or  the  Barred  Rocks?  (2)  Give  reasons. 
(3)  How  do  fowls  keep  themselves  clean?  (4)  Why 
do  we  scatter  grain  in  straw  for  the  chickens  to  search 
out?  (5)  Why  should  farmers  use  incubators?  (6) 
What  is  the  use  of  grit  in  chicken  feed?  (7)  Why  is 
oyster  shell  eaten  by  hens?  (8)  What  is  the  cause  of 
soft-shelled  eggs?  (9)  Why  should  chickens  be  penned 
up  and  kept  quiet  when  fattening  for  market? 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments,  refer  to  the 
Appendix. 


CHAPTER  VII 


TURKEYS,  DUCKS,  AND  GEESE 

Turkeys.  A  flock  of  turkeys  has  helped  many  a 
farmer's  daughter  to  a  new  winter  outfit  or  bought 
her  things  to  go  away  to  school.  Besides  being  a 
profitable  bird  at  Thanksgiving  time,  they  destroy 
millions  of  bugs  which  would  injure  the  crops.  The 
bronze  turkey  (Fig.  35)  is  the  most  common  in  the 
United  States.  Some  turkeys  are  hatched  by  hens 
and  some  by  incubators.  The  first  food  should  be 
the  curd  of  milk  made  like  cottage  cheese.  To  the 
cheese  should  be  added  chopped  boiled  eggs  and  a 
bread  made  of  corn  meal,  skimmed  milk,  and  salt. 
After  turkeys  are  six  weeks  old,  they  get  their  own 
living  catching  grasshoppers  and  bugs.    They  need 

clean  pens  and  clean 
food.  Dampness  is 
sure  to  kill  young  tur- 
keys, so  they  should 
be  kept  in  their  pens 
in  the  morning  until 
the  dew  is  off  the 
grass. 

Fattening  Turkeys. 
The  turkey  is  usually 
allowed  to  roam  until 
he  is  ready  for  market, 


Fig.  35.     Bronze.  turTcey. 


58 


TURKEYS,  DUCKS,  AND  GEESE 


59 


but  about  the  first  of  October  he  should  have  an  eve- 
ning meal  of  good  yellow  corn.  It  is  well  to  begin 
with  a  little  at  a  time,  but  by  the  first  of  November 
he  must  go  to  bed  with  a  full  crop  every  night. 
This  makes  the  flesh  yellow,  juicy,  and  tender. 

Ducks.  Pekins  are  the  most  popular  ducks  (Fig. 
36).  Duck's  eggs  can 
be  hatched  under  hens 
or  in  incubators.  The 
first  food  of  the  duck- 
lings should  be  a  moist 
mash  instead  of  dry 
feed.  Ducks  need  plenty 
of  water  to  drink,  for 
they  take  a  mouthful  of 
food  and  wash  it  down 
with  water.  They  must 
have  drinking  pans 
deep  enough  so  they  can 

stick  their  heads  in  over  their  eyes,  because  that  is 
their  way  of  keeping  their  nostrils  and  eyes  clean. 
The  birds  are  dry-picked  to  save  the  feathers  for 
pillows.  Duck's  eggs  are  popular,  especially  at 
Easter. 

Geese.  The  goose  is  the  Christmas  bird  (Fig.  37). 
When  geese  are  allowed  to  roam  they  gather  most 
of  their  food,  which  is  usually  grasses  and  insects. 
In  the  winter  months  they  must  be  fed  one  meal  a 
day.  Geese  graze  as  freely  as  cattle  and  have  been 
accused  of  destroying  the  roots  of  grass.    They  must 


Fig.  3G.    Pekin  ducks. 


60  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTURE 

have  plenty  of  water  for  the  same  reason  that  ducks 
need  it.  The  eggs  are  best  hatched  under  a  hen. 
A  sitting  goose  is  very  cross  and  has  been  known 
to  break  a  man's  arm  with  a  blow  of  her  wings. 

Young  goslings  are  easily  chilled  and  must  be 
looked  after  during  cold  rains.     To  make  a  rapid 


Fig.  37.     The  Christmas  bird. 

growth,  geese  must  be  fed  wheat  bran,  corn  meal, 
and  scraps.  They  should  have  plenty  of  shade, 
water,  and  grass.  They  may  be  made  ready  for 
market  in  three  months.  Their  feathers  are  valu- 
able for  pillows  and  many  other  things. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
INSECTS 

Insect  Enemies.  Almost  every  plant  has  an  in- 
sect enemy  that  feeds  upon  it;  and  the  farmer  who 
wishes  to  protect  his  crops,  orchards,  and  gardens 
must  know  how  to  fight  these  plant  enemies.  In- 
sects form  about  nine-tenths  of  all  the  animal  life 
upon  the  earth.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  farmers'  produce  is  lost  each  year  because 
of  insects.     (Figs.  38,  39,  40,  41,  and  77.) 

Insect  Friends.  Certain  insects,  however,  are  use- 
ful to  mankind.  Some  gather  honey  and  carry 
pollen  from  flower  to  flower,  while  others  spin  silk, 
and  still  others  clean  away  dead  animals.  These 
friends  of  man  are:  bees  (Fig.  45),  wasps,  dragon 
flies,  tiger  beetles,  silkworms,  and  many  others. 

Parts  of  Insects.  Insects  when  full-grown  have 
the  body  divided  into  three  parts:  the  head,  the 
middle  part,  or  thorax,  and  the  abdomen  or  back 
part.  On  the  head  are  the  eyes,  the  feelers,  called 
antenncp,  and  the  mouth.  The  chest  or  thorax  bears 
the  wings,  of  which  there  are  usually  two  pairs,  and 
six  legs. 

Biting  Insects.  There  are  among  insects  two 
kinds  of  mouths.  Such  insects  as  grasshoppers  and 
beetles  bite  the  food.  Others,  such  as  mosquitoes, 
bedbugs,    bees,    and    butterflies,    suck    their    food. 

61 


62 


ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTURE 


Insects  with  biting  months  have  two  pairs  of  jaws 
with  which  they  chew  their  food ;  and  they  often  eat 
bark,  leaves,  fruit,  and  flowers.  All  these  biting 
insects  may  be  killed  by  spraying  poison  on  the 
plants  on  which  they  feed. 

Sucking  Insects.     Insects  with   sucking  mouths 
usually  live  upon  the  sap  of  plants  or  the  blood  of 


i£F^ 


.m 


m . 


^^  '•% 


Courtesy  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

Fig.  38.     Knotty  apples  from  trees  that  were  not  sprayed. 

animals.  Some  few  of  them,  such  as  bees  and  but- 
terflies, feed  largely  upon  the  nectar  or  sweets  of 
flowers.  Since  they  get  their  food  from  the  inside 
of  the  objects  on  which  they  feed,  we  can  not  poison 
them,  but  must  find  some  other  method  of  fighting 
them. 

Contact  Insecticides.  Substances  have' been  dis- 
covered which  will  kill  insects  when  covering  or 
touching  their  bodies.     These   are   called   contact 


INSECTS 


63 


insecticides.  Insects  do  not  breathe  through  their 
noses  or  mouths,  but  they  have  little  holes,  or  pores 
placed  along  both  sides  of  their  bodies,  and  through 
these  the  air  passes  in  and  out.  When  anything 
clogs  these  breathing  pores,  they  die.  It  has  been 
found  that  certain  oils  and  powders  will  destroy  in- 
sects by  smothering  them.    Oils  may  be  mixed  with 


Courtesy  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

Fig.  39.     Apples  from  trees  that  were  sprayed.     No  farmer  can  afford 
to  neglect  Ms  fruit  crop. 

other  materials  so  as  to  prevent  damage  to  the  plants 
on  which  the  insects  live.  Kerosene  emulsion  is 
such  an  insect  destroyer.  Poisons  may  be  put  on 
the  plants  before  insects  appear  as  a  protection,  but 
contact  insecticides  must  be  applied  to  the  insects 
themselves. 

Moulting  of  Insects.    Insects  have  no  bones  or 
inside  skeleton,  but  the  skin  becomes  very  hard  and 


64 


ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTUBE 


horn-like  and  is  usually  .considered  the  skeleton  of 
the  insect.    As  it  becomes  hard  it  will  not  stretch; 

and  when  the  insect  has 
grown  so  large  as  to  en- 
tirely fill  this  hard  coat, 
a  new  or  soft  coat  forms 
underneath;  and  the  old 
one  is  shed  or  cast  off. 
The  casting  off  of  an  old 
coat,  or  shell,  is  called 
moulting.  The  skin  is 
moulted  several  times 
during  the  life  of  the 
insect,  and  each  time  it 
becomes  larger.  The 
chief  changes  in  the  in- 
sect's life  usually  come 
in  the  last  two  moults. 


Courtesy  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

Fig.  40.     Curculio   depositing   its 
egg  upon  a  young  peach. 


Stages  of  Development. 

Wasps,  bees,  butterflies, 
moths,  beetles,  flies,  and 
mosquitoes  have  very  re- 
markable changes  in  the 
last  moults.  Such  insects 
are  said  to  have  four 
stages  of  life:  (1)  the  egg 
stage,  (2)  the  larva  or 
grub  stage,  (3)  the  pupa 
stage,  (4)  the  adult  stage. 
(Figs.  42  and  43.) 


Courtesy  XJ.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 
Fig.  41.     The    young    grub    de- 
stroying the  fruit. 


INSECTS 


65 


Larva  Stage.  Eggs  hatch  into  the  larva  stage, 
which  is  the  time  of  growth  and  when  most  of  the 
eating  is  done.  The  larva  of  a  butterfly  is  a  eater- 
pillar,  that  of  a  fly  is  a  maggot,  and  the  larva  of  a 
mosquito  is  a  wiggler.  Some  insects  eat  all  the 
time  during  this  growing  stage,  never  going  to  sleep. 


Courtesy  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture     ^ 

Fig.  42.     May  beetle,  called  also  June  beetle  or  June  bug;  a,  beetle; 

b,  pupa;  c,  egg;  d,  newly-hatched  larva;  e,  mature  larva; 

f ,  anal  segment  of  same  from  below. 


They  stop  only  long  enough  to  cast  their  coats.  The 
kinds  that  live  on  flesh  have,  in  some  instances, 
been  known  to  eat  two  hundred  times  their  own 
weight  in  a  single  day. 

Pupa  Stage.  The  larva  then  goes  into  a  resting 
or  sleeping  state,  enclosing  itself  in  a  case  of  some 
kind.  This  is  called  the  pupa  stage.  Silkworms 
spin  for  their  pupa  stage  a  silken  covering  called  a 
cocoon.  While  in  this  state  the  insects  go  through 
many  wonderful  changes.  Wings  and  legs  are 
grown  and  after  a  short  time  the  full  grown  or  adult 


Courtesy  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

Fig.  43.     Mexican   Cotton   Boll    Weevil.     1,   Weevil,   tack   view, 
weevil,  side  view;   3,   fully-grown   larva;   4,   egg;   5,  pupa 
ready  to  transform ;  6,  adult  weevil  with  wing  covers 
raised  and  wings  extended,  ready  to  tale  flight. 


INSECTS  67 

insect  comes  forth  a  fly,  a  mosquito,  or  a  beetle. 

Freezing  the  Insect.  The  blood  of  insects  is  trans- 
parent like  water  and  is  pushed  along  through  the 
body  by  the  beating  of  a  large  vein  or  artery  which 
lies  along  the  back,  instead  of  by  the  beating  of  a 
heart.  Insects  are  cold-blooded  and  can  freeze  with- 
out being  killed.  During  the  winter  insects  hiber- 
nate; that  is,  a  great  many  varieties  live  through 
the  winter  hidden  away  among  old  grass  or  under 
stones,  logs,  bark,  and*  in  the  ground.  Even  the 
eggs  of  insects  may  be  frozen  solid  and  remain 
uninjured.  . 

Insect  Life  Short.  Insects  generally  die  soon 
after  laying  their  eggs,  though  some  kinds  live 
longer,  raising  several  broods.  A  great  many  die 
before  their  eggs  hatch.  Insects  are  found  in  all 
countries  at  all  times  of  the  year.  They  are  found 
in  our  homes,  gardens,  and  fields;  in  the  air,  water, 
and  the  earth:  both  within  and  upon  the  bodies  of 
animals.  We  shall  learn  more  of  the  different  kinds 
of  insects  as  we  study  the  chapters  on  crops. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  How  do  insects  compare  in  numbers  with  animals? 
(2)  Name  some  insects  that  are  man's  friends.  (3) 
Name  the  parts  of  the  insect's  body.  (4)  How  many 
legs  have  they?  (5)  What  is  the  difference  between 
biting  and  sucking  insects?  (6)  Why  does  a  farmer  need 
to  know  how  an  insect  takes  its  food?  (7)  Why  do 
insects  moult?  (8)  Explain  larva,  pupa,  and  cocoon. 
(9)  What  is  peculiar  about  the  blood  of  insects?  (10) 
What  is  meant  by  hibernating? 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  BEE 

The  First  Sugar  Makers.  All  the  old  Bible  coun- 
tries had  their  beekeepers.  Before  the  growing  of 
sugar  cane  and  the  making  of  sugar  was  begun, 
bees  furnished  the  only  means  of  sweetening  food. 
Our  savage  forefathers  probably  robbed  the  hollow 
trees  where  bees  stored  their  honey  and  in  time 
learned  how  to  capture  swarms.  In  England,  not 
many  hundred  years  ago,  swarms  of  bees  were  so 
prized  that  they  were  willed  from  one  family  to 
another. 

Finding  the  Bee-Tree.  To  find  a  *' bee-tree,"  the 
hunters  took  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  boxes  of 
diluted  honey;  then  they  followed  in  the  direction 
the  bees  took  as  they  flew  home.  It  was  believed 
when  the  bee  had  his  honey  basket  filled,  he  took 
the  straightest  way  possible  to  the  bee  tree.  That 
is  how  we  came  to  have  the  expression,  *^Take  a 
bee  line.'' 

The  Honey  Train.  An  American  invented  the 
hive  which  makes  it  possible  for  one  man  to  take 
charge  of  many  bees.  There  are  many  men  who 
make  beekeeping  their  business  (Fig.  44).  It  has 
been  estimated  that  if  all  the  honey  manufactured 
in  the  United  States  in  one  year  were  put  in  cars, 
it  would  make  a  train  .thirty-five  miles  long. 

68 


THE  BEE 


69 


Where  the  Honey  Comes  From.    Bees,  with  their 
long  tongues,  take  the  sweet  juice,  or  nectar,  from 


H 

'•i'"'''i 

Courtesy  of  "Bee  Culture,"  Medina,  Ohio 
Fig.  44.     A  profitable  apiary. 

flowers,  clover,  buckwheat,  alfalfa,  black  gum,  chest- 
nut, and  catnip.  This  nectar  we  may  taste  by  pull- 
ing a  clover  blossom  to  pieces,  but  only  the  bee 
knows  how  to  make  it  into  honey. 

Pollen  and  Wax.  It  was  once  thought  that  the 
bees  used  the  little  yellow  balls,  which  we  some- 
times see  clinging  to  their  hind  legs,  for  making 
wax;  but  now  we  know  the  little  yellow  balls  are 
made  of  pollen  which  the  bee  gathers  from  flowers 
for  the  purpose  of  feeding  its  young,  and  that  the 
wax  is  secreted  from  their  own  bodies  in  much  the 


70  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

same  way  as  a  cow  secretes  milk.  The  wax  forms 
in  little  scales  on  the  under  side  of  their  bodies,  and 
when  they  want  to  use  it  they  pick  it  off  with  their 
feet.  After  mixing  it  in  their  mouths,  they  use  it 
in  building  the  beautiful  combs  with  the  six-sided 
pockets  in  which  they  store  honey. 
Members  of  the  Bee  Family.    We  do  not  care  to 


Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 
Fkj.  45.     The  honey  hee ;  a,  worJcer;  1),  queen ;  c,  drone. 
[Twice  the  natural  size.'\ 

go  very  near  bees  when  they  are  at  work,  so  not 
many  of  u^  know  the  difference  between  the  queen, 
the  workers,  and  the  drones  (Fig.  45).  The  queen 
is  the  largest  and  the  most  important  bee  in  the 
hive.  If  we  examine  the  cell,  or  living  room  of  the 
queen  bee,  we  shall  find  it  nearly  four  times  as  large 
as  those  of  the  other  bees.  It  is  about  the  size  and 
shape  of  a  peanut  and  is  usually  placed  on  the  edge 
of  the  comb. 


THE  BEE 


71 


The  Work  of  the  Queen.  The  queeu  is  the  mother 
bee,  and  she  lays  all  the  eggs.  It  is  said  that  a  queen 
bee  has  laid  more  than  three  thousand  eggs  in  a 
single  day.  There  are  some  seasons  when  she  does 
not  lay  so  many,  and  there  are  other  seasons  when 
she  does  not  lay  at  all;  but  it  does  not  take  long  for 
her  family  to  become  too  large  for  the  hive. 

Why  Bees  Swarm.  When  the  family  becomes  too 
big,  they  form  a  new  family,  or,  in  other  words,  they 
''swarm.''  (Fig.  46.)  A  cloud  of  bees  comes  out 
of  the  hive  and  lights  on  a  near-by  bush.     From 


Fifi.  46. 


Courtesy  of  "Beo  Cullnro."  Medina.  Ohio 

stand  of  hees  near  the  swarming  time. 


72  ELEMENTAKY  AGEICULTUKE 

here  they  send  out  scouts  to  find  new  housekeeping 
quarters;  they  also  wi§h  to  make  sure  their  queen 
is  with  them.  If  they  find  she  is  not  with  them, 
they  return  to  the  old  hive  and  wait  for  her  before 
they  start  again.  If  the  beekeeper  is  watching,  he 
makes  ready  a  clean,  fresh  hive  and  either  shakes 
them  in  or  places  it  where  they  will  go  in. 

The  New  Queen.  The  queen  which  takes  her  place 
in  the  old  hive  comes  from  an  egg  laid  in  the  queen's 
cell.  She  has  been  fed  with  *^ royal  jelly.''  This  is 
much  richer  food  than  that  which  is  fed  to  the  baby 
bees  which  grow  into  the  workers  or  drones,  and  it 
makes  a  much  larger  bee.     (Fig.  45-b.) 

Getting  a  New  Queen.  In  case  an  accident  hap- 
pens to  their  old  queen,  the  bees  have  a  curious  way 
of  getting  a  new  one  very  soon.  The  drones  choose 
three  .cells  which  contain  newly-hatched  bees,  they 
knock  out  the  partition  cells,  kill  two  of  the  bee- 
babes,  and  feed  the  third  on  ^^ royal  jelly." 

Dividing  the  Work.  There  are  from  thirty  thou- 
sand to  forty  thousand  workers  in  a  good  strong 
colony,  and  each  bee  has  its  own  work  to  do.  The 
young  bees  build  the  comb,  feed  the  newly-hatched 
bees,  and  do  general  housework;  those  a  little  older 
secrete  wax  and  help  their  elder  brothers  to  shape 
pockets  for  storing  the  honey  which  these  older  bees 
bring  in.  A  queen  may  live  four  or  five  years,  biit 
the  workers  that  are  hatched  in  the  spring,  work  so 
hard  that  they  often  wear  themselves  out  in  forty 
or  fifty  days. 


THE  BEE  73 

The  Drones.  The  drones  are  the  male  bees.  They 
are  larger  than  the  workers  and  have  no  sting. 
Somebody  has  called  them  the  *^ tramps'*  of  the  bee 
family,  because  they  do  no  work.  When  the  workers 
tire  of  feeding  the  drones,  they  kill  them  and  throw 
them  out  of  the  hive.     (Fig.  45-c.) 

The  Kind  to  Keep.  Bees  have  been  known  to 
make  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  pounds  of  honey  in 
a  year  in  one  hive.  The  Italian  bees  are  considered 
the  finest,  because  their  longer  tongues  can  reach 
nectar  in  the  flowers  that  the  black  bee  ,can  not 
reach.  They  are  also  more  gentle  and  easy  to  handle. 

Helping  the  Bee.  To  secure  honey  in  the  best 
shape  for  the  market,  the  beekeeper  places  in  the 
top  of  the  hives  frames  which  hold  just  one  pound 
of  honey.  (Fig.  47.)  These  have  a  sheet  of  wax 
on  which  is  impressed  a  network  of  six-sided  cells. 
From  this  foundation,  new  cells  are  built  by  the 
bees.  A  machine  has  been  invented  that  saves  the 
time  and  energy  of  the  bee  in  wax  making. 

The  Honey  Extractor.  Once  a  beekeeper's  little 
son  was  playing  with  a  piece  of  unsealed  honey- 
comb in  a  basket.  The  lad  had  tied  a  piece  of  string 
to  the  handle.  As  he  whirled  the  basket  around 
and  around  in  the  air,  his  father  noticed  the  honey 
dripping  from  the  basket.  When  he  found  the  cells 
of  the  honeycomb  were  nearly  emptied  without  in- 
juring the  comb  he  thought,  **How  much  labor  it 
would  save  the  bees  if  they  could  fill  their  combs 
again  instead  of  having  to  make  new  ones!"    So 


Courtesy  of  "Bee  Culture,"  Medina,  Ohio 

Flu.  47.     It's   all   in   Tcnowing   how. 


THE  BEE  75 

lie  invented  the  honey  extractor  which  empties  man}^ 
combs  at  once  and  gives  ns  the  clear  strained  honey. 
It  removes  the  honey  from  the  comb  without  injury 
to  the  comb  and  without  destroying  its  place  in  the 
frame;  and  these  old  combs  are  put  back  in  the  hive 
to  be  filled  again.  In  this  way  bees  are  kept  busy 
,2:athering  honey  instead  of  building  comb. 

Keeping  Them  Warm  in  Winter.  Bees  must  bo 
protected  from  the  cold  in  winter,  or  they  may  die. 
The  ^'box  hive''  incloses  the  real  hive,  leaving  a 
space  to  be  filled  with  chaff  and  other  packing  ma- 
terial. A  small  opening  is  left  so  the  bees  can  get 
out  in  cold  weather.  They  must  have  exercise  in 
the  open  air  to  keep  well. 

Do  Not  Starve  Bees.  In  removing  honey  from 
the  hive,  care  should  be  taken  that  there  is  enough 
left  to  feed  the  bees  through  the  winter  season. 
Sometimes  a  keeper  prefers  to  feed  the  bees  on  a 
sirup  made  of  sugar,  so  he  can  sell  all  the  honey. 

Another  Service.  Besides  the  income  the  bees 
bring  the  farmer  in  honey  and  wax,  they  do  him 
another  great  service.  They  scatter  pollen  from  one 
plant  to  another.  Many  plants  cannot  bear  fruit 
or  seed  unless  their  pollen  is  mixed.  The  wind  does 
some  of  this,  but  the  bee  is  the  best  mixer.  He 
dives  into  the  heart  of  a  flower  for  nectar  and  gets 
his  body  covered  with  pollen  and  takes  it  with  him 
to  the  next  plant.  It  is  said  clover  would  not  grow 
on  the  island  of  New  Zealand  till  bumblebees  were 
taken  there  to  scatter  the  pollen. 


76  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

Busy  as  a  Bee.  Now  we  know  what  busy,  strange, 
helpful  little  creatures  the  bees  are,  and  we  do  not 
wonder  at  the  old  saying,  '^As  busy  as  a  bee." 
Every  farm  has  enough  plants  to  provide  several 
swarms  with  pollen  and  nectar,  so  that  each  one 
may  have  its  own  honey.  What  one  needs  to  know 
about  beekeeping  he  may  learn  largely  from  books, 
because  it  is  said  that  more  books  have  been  written 
about  the  bee  than  about  any  other  domestic  animal. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  Why  were  bees  more  highly  prized  in  the  olden 
times  than  to-day?  (2)  What  plants  are  good  for  honey 
bees?  (3)  Where  do  the  bees  get  the  wax?  (4)  What 
is  *' royal  jelly"?  (5)  How  do  bee  farmers  aid  their 
bees  in  honey  making?  (6)  What  other  service  does  the 
bee  perform  besides  making  money?  (7)  Why  would 
not  clover  grow  in  New  Zealand  at  first? 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments,  refer  to  the 
Appendix. 


CHAPTER  X 


BIRDS 


iV   certain   beautiful   poem   tells   tins 
upon  a  time  the  farmers  of  Killing- 


A  Story, 
story.     Once 

worth  were  troubled  and  angry,  because  the  birds 
ate  so  much  of  their  fruit  and  grain.  So  they  held 
a  town  meeting  and  ordered  every  bird  killed.  Only 
one  man,  the  village  teacher,  pleaded  for  the  birds. 
He  said  it  would  be  lone- 
ly without  their  cheerful 
songs.  He  reminded  the 
farmers  of  the  many  in- 
sects which  the  birds  de- 
voured. He  told  them  that 
the  few  cherries  and  the 
small  measure  of  grain 
the  birds  ate  were  only 
just  wages  for  the  hard 
work  they  did  in  protect- 
ing the  farmers'  crops 
from  worms  and  bugs. 
But  the  farmers  did  not 
heed  his  warning.  The 
parent  birds  were  shot 
and  the  little  ones 
starved  in  their  nests. 
For    one    long    summer 

77 


Fig.  48.     The  Red-Hemkd  Wood- 

'pecker,  an   enemy   of  tree 

insects  and  a  friend  of 

the  farmer. 


78 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTUEE 


there  were  no  birds  in  Killingwortli.     Hundreds 
of  caterpillars  and  cankerworms  and  small  insects 

destroyed  the  crops  and 
the  leaves  on  the  trees. 
The  land  looked  like  a 
desert.  At  last  the  fool- 
ish farmers  saw  their 
mistake.  They  hastened 
to  send  away  for  many 
cages  of  singing  birds 
which  were  again  al- 
lowed to  fly  about  at 
will.  The  story  ends 
here,  but  we  are  glad 
to  know  that  the  birds 
we  all  love  so  much  are 
of  great  use  to  us. 

Service  to  the  Farm- 
ers. It  will  be  impossi- 
ble to  mention  here  all 
the  helpful  birds.  Rob- 
ins hop  about  the  fields 
and  lawns  and  gardens,  destroying  grasshoppers 
and  earthworms.  The  bluebirds,  warblers,  and 
chickadees  work  among  the  tree-tops,  catching  the 
insects  which  eat  the  tender  leaves.  The  nuthatches, 
creepers,  and  woodpeckers  (Fig.  48)  patrol  the  bark 
of  the  trees,  finding  plant  lice  and  borers. 

Other  Friends  of  the  Farmer.    The  swallows,  fly- 
catchers, and  kingbirds  sail  about  the  air,  snapping 


Fig.  49.     The  Boholinh,  an  enemy 

of    grasshoppers,    caterpillars, 

army  worms  and  the  like. 


BIKDS 


79 


up  flies  and  mosquitoes.  When  darkness  comes,  the 
owls  and  nighthawks  go  on  duty  and  capture  in- 
sects of  many  kinds.  They  swoop  down  and  catch 
moles,  meadow  mice,  and  rats  that  do  harm  to 
farmers'  crops. 

Grosbeaks  Are  Friends.  Grosbeaks  are  of  such 
l)articular  service  to  the  farmer  that  in  many  states 
they  are  protected  by  law.  The  rose-breasted  gros- 
beak, or  **  potato-bug ''  bird  makes  a  tenth  of  his 
diet  of  potato  beetles  (Fig.  77).  He  also  eats  the 
cucumber  beetle.  He  is  accused  of  eating  peas,  but 
he  is  so  useful  in  the  garden  that  it  is  worth  one's 
trouble  to  put 
netting  over  the 
peas.  He  may  also 
be  kept  away  by 
a  scarecrow.  He 
is  very  fond  of 
orchards,  for  can- 
kerworms,  caterpil- 
lars, and  the  moths 
and  scale  insects 
that  attack  trees  are 
his  special  delight 
at  meal  time.  The 
cardinal,  or  red-bird, 
belongs  to  the  gros- 
beak family.  The> 
have   been    accused 

of  pulling  sprouting  Fig.  50.     The  Meadow  Lark. 


80 


ELEMENTAEY  AGRI€ULTUEE 


grain,  though  the  examination  of  the  stomachs  of 
five  hundred  cardinals  did  not  prove  this  to  be  true. 
Tarring  the  Seed.  To  prevent  the  western  gros- 
beaks from  pulling  the  seed  grain,  the  farmers  soak 
the  seed  corn  or  other  grain  in  a  barrel  of  water  and 
stir  it  thoroughly  with  a  stick  dipped  in  gas-tar. 

When  the  grain  be- 
comes black,  it  is 
spread  on  sacks  and 
dried  in  the  sun.  With 
this  coating  of  tar,  it 
is  safe  from  the  birds. 
Seed  planted  with  a 
checkrow  planter  is 
not  disturbed  be- 
cause the  earth  is 
packed. 

Protecting  Grain 
Fields.  Some  farmers 
protect  their  fields  of 
ripe  grain  by  plant- 
ing a  few  rows  of  mil- 
let on  the  edge  of  the 
field.  Birds  prefer 
millet  to  other  grain,  but  it  should  be  sowed  so  as  to 
ripen  at  the  same  time  as  other  grain. 

The  Grosbeak  and  the  Orchard.  Mulberry  and 
june-berry  trees  will  protect  an  orchard  in  the  same 
way.  The  black-headed  grosbeak,  if  not  prevented, 
eats  a  good  deal  of  fruit;  but  it  has  been  estimated 


Fig.  51. 


T^e   common    Quail   or 
Bobwhite, 


BIEDS 


81 


that  for  every  quart  of  fruit  he  eats,  he  consumes, 
by  measure,  a  quart  and  a  half  of  black  olive  scales, 
a  quart  of  flower  beetles,  and  a  large  quantity  of 
codling  moth  babies  and  cankerworms.  If  this  is 
true,  he  certainly  saves  much  more  fruit  than  he 
destroys. 

Policemen  of  the  Air.  Some  one  has  called  the 
birds  the  little  policemen  of  the  air,  because  they 
protect  us  from  the  robber  bugs  and  caterpillars. 
Insects  make  up  nine-tenths  of  the  animal  life  of  the 
world,  and  it  has  been  estimated  that  a  bird  will 
destroy  thirty  insects  daily,  so 
he  is  a  very  valuable  little 
policeman. 

Eating  Weed  Seeds.  Another 
great  foe  of  the  farmer  is  weeds. 
In  one  state  alone  the  tree  spar- 
rows are  reported  to  have  eaten 
eight  hundred  seventy-five  tons 
of  weed  seed  in  one  season. 
This  included  smartweed,  rag- 
weed, bindweed,  crabgrass,  and 
many  others.  The  bobolink  and 
meadow  lark  destroy  many  in- 
sect enemies  of  the  crops  and 
untold  quantities  of  weed  seed. 
(Fi^-s.  49  and  50.) 

Big  Appetites.  Birds  need  a 
great  deal  of  food,  because  they 

,.  rni  i.      n    ii         ^''^'-  ^--  Making  friends 

are  so  active.    They  eat  all  the  of  the  Mrds. 


82  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

time  they  are  not  sleeping  or  caring  for  their  young. 
One  flicker  was  found  who  had  in  his  stomach  five 
thousand  ants;  a  nighthawk  ate  at  one  time  sixty 
grasshoppers,  and  a  bobwhite  (Fig.  51)  ate  seven- 
teen hundred  seeds  of  weeds  for  one  meal. 

Making  Friends  of  Birds.  Birds  may  be  coaxed 
to  stay  near  the  house  and  garden  by  protecting 
them  from  cats  and  bird-dogs  and  by  making  nest- 
ing easy  for  them.  One  kind-hearted  farmer  built 
a  home  for  a  wren.  It  was  a  box  six  inches  square 
and  about  eight  inches  high.  He  put  a  little  perch 
on  the  front  and  an  entrance  hole  only  one  inch 
across,  so  the  sparrows  could  not  get  in.  He  did 
not  paint  it,  but  left  it  wood  color,  for  birds  do  not 
like  bright-colored  dwellings.  The  same  little  wren 
came  on  the  fifth  day  of  May  every  year  for  seven 
years  and  kept  house  in  it.  Martins  and  bluebirds 
also  settled  down  in  his  bird  houses.  (Fig.  52.)  The 
farmer  ^s  wife  coaxed  the  orioles  to  build  their 
strange  little  pouch  nests  on  the  limbs  of  their  elm 
trees,  by  putting  out  yarn  and  cotton  twine  on  the 
bushes  in  the  nesting  season.  Covered  arbors  were 
made  and  vines  allowed  to  grow  to  make  sheltered 
places  for  rearing  their  young. 

Sharing  with  the  Birds.  A  big  mulberry  tree  in 
the  garden  furnished  food  for  many  songsters  as 
well  as  plenty  of  pies  for  the  farmer's  family.  On 
top  of  posts  in  the  yard,  out  of  the  reach  of  cats,  were 
shallow  dishes  which  provided  water  for  the  birds: 
and  the  farmer  left  an  opening  under  the  eaves  of 


BIEPS  83 

his  barn  so  the  swallows  could  get  in  and  keep  house 
among  the  rafters,  because  they  keep  the  barn  free 
from  gnats  and  flies.  This  bird-lover  was  not  so 
cordial  to  crows,  blue  jays,  sparrows,  and  chicken 
hawks,  for  they  destroy  the  eggs  and  the  young  of 
the  song  birds. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  What  birds  get  their  food  among  the  tree  tops? 
(2)  Do  you  know  these  birds?  Get  a  bird  book  to  aid 
you  in  learning  them.  (3)  What  kinds  work  on  the 
bark  of  trees?  (4)  Name  some  that  get  their  food  on 
the  wing.  (5)  How  may  orchards  be  protected  from 
birds?  (6)  Why  do  not  birds  like  bright-colored  bird- 
houses? 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments,  refer  to  the 
Appendix. 


PART  II.    SOILS  AND  FARM  CROPS 

CHAPTER  XI 
SOILS 

What  the  Soils  Do.  The  layer  of  dirt  or  crust 
that  covers  the  earth  is  .called  the  soil.  It  is  so  thin 
in  places  that  the  rocks  appear  through  it.  In  other 
places  it  is  deep.  Plants  and  insects,  birds,  beasts, 
and  men,  are  all  fed  on  what  grows  in  this  layer  of 
soil.  It  is  marvelous  that  soil  will  produce  so  many 
different  kinds  of  plants. 

A  Light  Soil.  -As  we  go  about  we  notice  that  the 
soil  of  some  fields  looks  quite  different  from  that 
of  others.  Here  we  find  a  loose  soil  in  which  we 
can  easily  see  a  large  amount  of  common  sand. 
There  we  find  soil  that  contains  so  much  clay  that 
bricks  can  be  made  of  it.  The  more  sand  a  soil 
contains  the  easier  it  is  to  cultivate  it.  It  works 
better  under  the  plow  and  harrow.  For  this  reason 
a  sandy  soil  is  said  to  be  a  light  soil. 

Heavy  Soil.  Clay  soils  stick  together  and  are 
hard  to  work,  both  when  they  are  very  wet  and  very 
dry.  If  we  make  clay  into  mud  pies,  they  will  crack 
when  they  are  dry.  Clay  soils  behave  this  way  in 
the  fields.  We  have  all  seen  the  big  cracks  in  clay 
soil  in  the  dry  midsummer.    This  kind  of  soil  is  said 

84 


SOILS  85 

to  be  cold,  because  it  holds  so  much  water  instead 
of  allowing  it  to  pass  through  easily.  Because  clay 
soils  are  sticky  and  hard  to  work,  we  call  them 
heavy. 

Crops  for  Clay  Soils.  Clay  soils  are  excellent  for 
pastures,  and  they  wear  well.  Apples,  pears,  and 
grapes  do  well  on  them.  They  also  produce  good 
crops  of  hay,  wheat,  oats,  beets,  cabbages,  and  tur- 
nips. But  clay  soils  are  too  cold  and  wet  for  corn 
and  too  hard  to  allow  potatoes  to  grow  freely. 

Loam.  A  soil  that  is  composed  of  clay,  sand  and 
decomposed  organic  matter  is  called  loam.  If  there 
is  more  clay  than  sand,  it  is  called  a  clay  loam;  if 
there  is  more  sand,  it  is  a  sandy  loam.  The  presence 
of  decomposed  organic  matter  gives  it  fertility.  This 
is  the  best  farm  soil,  for  loam  makes  a  good  home 
for  plant  roots.  It  is  easy  to  cultivate,  and  because 
it  allows  moisture  to  pass  through  it  readily,  no  time 
is  lost  after  rains  in  waiting  for  it  to  dry  out. 

What  the  Soil  Contains.  We  know  that  all  soil 
is  made  up  of  fine  particles  of  rock  or  sand,  of 
decayed  plants,  of  water,  and  of  insect  life.  It  also 
contains  air  and  another  plant  life,  which,  perhaps, 
we  do  not  know  about,  because  we  cannot  see  it. 
They  are  so  small  it  would  take  many  thousands 
of  them  to  measure  an  inch.  This  low,  tiny  plant 
life  we  call  bacteria.  They  are  very  useful  in 
changing  the  soil  so  as  to  make  it  ready  for  plant 
food.  Bacteria  must  have  air  to  live,  and  that  is 
one  reason  we  must  have  air  in  the  soil. 


86  ELEMENTARY  AGEICULTURE 

Plant  Food.  In  order  that  plants  may  grow,  they 
need  certain  foods  that  we  call  plant  foods.  Plants 
get  this  food  from  the  soil  and  the  air.  In  order 
not  to  rob  the  soil,  we  must  know  what  our  crops 
are  taking  out  of  it  and  how  to  put  these  plant 
foods  back. 

Plants  Need  Many  Foods.  The  plant  needs  a 
variety  of  foods,  just  as  a  hungry  boy  does.  Ordi 
nary  plants  need  about  thirteen  different  kinds. 
Some  of  these  elements,  or  different  kinds  of  foods, 
are  obtained  from  the  air,  and  others  from  the  soil. 
To  grow  good  crops,  the  soil  must  not  only  have 
enough  of  all  the  foods  that  the  plants  need,  but 
they  must*  be  in  such  form  that  the  roots  can  take 
them  up  and  use  them  to  build  up  the  stalk,  leaves, 
and  fruit. 

Only  Liquid  Food.  The  foods  taken  from  the  soil 
are  called  mineral  foods,  because  they  are  actually 
bits  of  minerals  dissolved  in  water  just  as  you  dis- 
solve sugar  or  salt.  Plants  drink  their  food  through 
tiny,  hollow  root  hairs  that  take  up  this  water  solu- 
tion. They  cannot  take  up  solid  particles  of  soil. 
So  all  this  mineral  plant  food  must  be  dissolved  in 
water  before  it  can  pass  into  the  plant  and  become  a 
part  of  it. 

Water  the  Chief  Plant  Food.  When  soil  is 
perfectly  dry,  plants  cannot  grow  in  it,  for  water 
generally  forms  about  three-fourths  of  a  plant  ^s 
weight.  Since  the  plant  can  take  plant  food  from 
the  soil  only  in  liquid  form,  we  see  that  water  itself 


SOILS  87 

is  not  only  an  important  plant  food,  but  it  carries  to 
the  stalk  and  leaves  nearly  all  the  other  foods  they 
need.  After  traveling  through  the  rootlets  up  the 
stem  to  the  leaves,  the  water  that  is  not  needed 
passes  oft'  from  the  leaves  into  the  air.  Therefore 
we  see  that  plants  take  in  much  more  water  than 
they  can  use,  for  the  sake  of  the  food  that  the  water 
brings  with  it.  We  are  told  that  timothy  hay  needs 
three  hundred  tons  of  water  to  obtain  the  other 
foods  necessary  to  make  one  ton  of  hay;  oats  require 
five  hundred  tons  of  water  for  a  ton  of  plant. 

Other  Food.  A  bundle  of  t\^heat  as  it  comes  from 
the  self-binder  weighs  about  ten  pounds,  and  nearly 
nine  and  one-half  pounds  of  this  is  composed  of 
water  and  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air.  A  large 
part  of  the  farmer's  labor  is  done  to  supply  the 
elements  that  make  up  the  other  half  pound  of  this 
bundle  of  wheat.  It  contains  ten  simple  foods  and 
no  two  in  equal  amounts.  The  wheat  cannot  spare 
any  one  of  these  ten  plant  foods.  So  when  the  soil 
loses  one  element  of  wheat  food,  it  is  no  longer  good 
wheat  land. 

Humus.  Different  parts  of  the  same  fields  may 
have  different  colors.  The  red  color  of  some  clays  is 
due  to  the  iron  in  them,  but  the  brown  or  black  color 
of  soils  is  usually  due  to  T:he  humus  that  they  con- 
tain. Humus  is  the  decay  of  plants.  The  leaf  mould 
which  we  find  under  the  dead  leaves  in  the  woods 
is  a  good  sample  of  humus.  This  is  a  very  impor- 
tant element  in  soil.     Humus  not  only  makes  the 


88  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

soil  dark  and  rich,  but  it  makes  the  ground  loose 
and  mellow  so  air  can  get  in.  It  also  enables  the 
soil  to  hold  far  more  moisture  than  would  be  pos- 
sible without  it.  Plants,  we  know,  need  both  air 
and  moisture  about  their  roots,  so  humus  is  a  valu- 
able aid  to  the  farmer. 

Soil  and  Surface  Water.  How  does  the  soil 
obtain  and  keep  moisture  and  give  it  over  to  the 
plants?  If  we  go  into  the  fields  after  a  heavy  rain, 
we  notice  muddy  streams  running  from  the  plowed 
land,  carrying  off  good,  fine  soil.  Part  of  the  water 
that  falls  as  rain  and  snow,  runs  off  instead  of 
sinking  into  the  earth.  This  we  call  surface  water, 
and  it  often  does  much  damage  to  our  fields;  but 
much  of  the  water  that  falls  upon  the  ground  sinks 
into  the  soil  through  cracks  and  holes  and  between 
the  tiny  grains  of  soil.  When  the  land  is  dry  the 
farmer  likes  a  slow,  steady  rain,  because  it  all  soaks 
into  the  ground  to  feed  plants,  instead  of  running 
off  as  surface  water  and  carrying  good  soil  with  it. 

Why  Clay  Soils  Are  Wet.  As  the  water  passes 
through  the  soil,  each  tiny  grain  of  sand  and  each 
little  particle  of  earth  is  covered  with  a  coat  of 
moisture.  All  through  the  soil  are  small  holes  or 
open  spaces  between  the^  grains,  and  into  these  the 
water  goes.  In  such  fine  soil  as  clay,  Avhich  packs 
closely,  the  spaces  are  small,  and  the  water  cannot 
pass  through  rapidly;  so  it  is  kept  back  in  holes, 
open  spaces,  or  puddles.  In  loose,  coarse-grained 
earth,  such  as  sand,  the  spaces  are  large;  and  the 


SOILS  89 

water  passes  through  rapidly.  This  explains  why 
clay  soil  is  sticky  and  wet  while  sand  is  a  dry  soil 
and  almost  never  forms  puddles. 

Holding  Water  for  Plants.  It  is  easy  to  under- 
stand how  water  will  move  downward  through  the 
soil  wherever  there  are  openings  or  pores.  We  also 
know  that  water-coated  particles  will  pass  on  some 
of  their  moisture  to  dry  ones  that  touch  them,  just 
as  lamp  oil  passes  up  the  wick.  Thus,  you  see,  mois- 
ture is  always  moving  toward  dry  areas.  This 
means  a  great  deal  to  plants,  for  when  their  rootlets 
drink  up  the  water  that  is  around  them  and  the  soil 
about  them  is  becoming  dry,  more  moisture  moves 
toward  the  dry  place  and  supplies  the  thirsty  plants. 
In  this  way  plants  may  obtain  nearly  all  the  water 
in  a  good  soil. 

Importance  of  Drainage.  Some  regions  have  con- 
siderable rainfall.  Water  soon  forms  a  coat  about 
each  tiny  grain  of  soil  and  fills  the  pore  spaces.  If 
more  rain  keeps  falling,  and  the  water  cannot  pass 
down  easily  through  the  soil,  we  have  swampy  land. 
This  happens  especially  where  the  under  drainage, 
as  we  say,  is  not  good.  In  such  swampy  lands,  the 
open  spaces,  or  pores  of  the  soil,  are  always  full  of 
water,  and  no  air  can  penetrate  the  soil. 

Good  Soil  Contains  Air.  All  plants  need  air  about 
their  roots  as  well  as  about  their  stems  and  leaves. 
The  roots  can  not  do  their  work  without  air,  and 
they  will  not  go  deeper  than  the  air  can  follow. 
Without  air,  seeds  will  not  sprout,  but  will    rot. 


90  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

Then,  as  we  have  said,  there  are  the  hosts  of  soil 
bacteria  whose  work  it  is  to  change  certain  plant 
foods  for  the  plant's  use;  and  these  bacteria  can  not 
live  without  air. 

How  to  Drain  Swampy  Land.  Level  fields  of  clay 
soil  are  often  unfit  for  crops,  because  they  do  not 
drain  well.  They  are  always  water-soaked  and 
swampy.  Thus  the  farmer  must  drain  such  fields 
or  allow  them  to  lie  idle.  The  best  method  is  to 
tile-drain  them.  This  is  done  by  digging  trenches 
from  thirty  to  one  hundred  feet  apart,  according  to 
the  soil.  In  the  bottom  of  these  trenches  tiles  are 
laid.  These  tiles  are  merely  hollow  tubes  about  a 
foot  long,  made  of  clay  and  burnt  hard  like  brick. 
They  are  laid  end  to  end  about  four  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  Care  must  be  taken  to  see 
that  the  tile  line  slopes  gradually  to  some  lower  level 
at  the  creek  or  river. 

How  Draining  Helps.  The  tile  drains  carry  away 
the  excess  of  water.  This  allows  air  to  enter  the 
soil,  and  plant  roots  will  follow  as  deep  as  the  air 
and  so  get  more  plant  food.  Bacteria  can  also  find 
better  homes  because  of  the  air  in  the  soil. 

A  Map  of  the  Tile  Lines.  The  tile  should  not  be 
too  small,  as  small  ones  get  filled  up  easily.  Noth- 
ing smaller  than  three  inches  in  diameter  should  be 
used,  and  in  many  places  only  four-inch  tile  are  laid. 
Tiling  a  field  costs  a  great  deal  of  money  and  it 
should  be  done  right.  A  map  of  the  field  may  be 
kept  showing  just  where  every  tile  line  is,  so  that 


SOILS  91 

if  a  section  again  becomes  swampy,  it  will  be  easier 
to  find  any  tile  that  has  filled  up  and  failed  to  do 
its  work. 

The  Farmer's  Bacteria  Friends.  We  have  learned 
of  the  tiny  bacteria  plants  that  live  in  the  soil  and 
help  to  prepare  food  for  the  plants  we  cultivate. 
Some  kinds  of  bacteria  live  in  other  places,  and 
others  are  harmful ;  but  these  soil  bacteria  are  very 
necessary  and  helpful,  and  the  farmer  works  hard 
to  make  the  soil  right  for  them  to  grow.  There  are 
millions  of  bacteria  in  a  cubic  inch  of  fertile  soil. 
They  do  not  need  sunlight  as  do  most  plants,  but 
they  do  require  air,  moisture,  warmth,  and  food. 

How  They  Help.  Bacteria  pounce  upon  all  vege- 
table matter,  such  as  leaves,  wood,  grass,  and  dead 
animal  matter,  that  falls  upon  the  ground  and 
begins  to  decay,  or  rot.  The  bacteria  break  up  all 
these  substances  into  simple  foods  that  are  ready  for 
tlie  plant  to  drink.  It  would  be  of  no  use  to  manure 
soil  if  it  were  not  for  bacteria. 

Bacteria  and  Clover.  Some  kinds  of  bacteria  set 
up  housekeeping  upon  the  tiny  rootlets  of  certain 
l)lants  such  as  clover,  alfalfa,  soy  beans,  and  cow- 
peas.  They  take  a  certain  element,  that  we  call 
nitrogen,  from  the  air  and  store  it  up  in  little 
bunches  or  swellings  on  the  roots  of  these  plants, 
ready  for  them  to  feed  upon.  Plants  must  have 
this  nitrogen  as  food,  and  soil  that  contains  abun- 
dance of  it  is  rich  soil.  Every  farmer  boy  knows 
that  the  fields  are  richest  where  clover,  alfalfa,  or 


92  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTUEE 

cowpeas  have  been  growing.  (Fig.  53.)  The  reason 
is  that  the  millions  of  bacteria  have  been  at  work 
upon  their  roots,  storing  up  nitrogen  for  them  and 
for  other  plants  to  feed  upon.  This  explains  why 
farmers  use  these  crops  to  build  up  worn-out  soils. 

Growing  Several  Crops.  The  farmer  always  raises 
some  crops  that  pay  better  than  others.  Corn  may 
pay  better  than  oats,  and  yet  it  is  wise  to  grow  some 
oats,  because  the  two  crops  can  be  worked  at  differ- 
ent times.  A  farmer  may  raise  all  the  corn  he  has 
time  to  take  care  of  and  still  raise  a  field  of  oats 
besides.  Barley,  oats,  and  spring  wheat  require 
attention  at  the  same  time.  So  the  farmer  usually 
chooses  only  one  of  these  crops.  Rye  and  winter 
wheat  must  be  worked  at  the  same  time,  and  so  the 
farmer  grows  but  one  of  these  in  a  season. 

Not  Too  Many  Crops.  It  is  better  to  raise  a  num- 
ber of  crops  than  to  put  the  whole  farm  into  one, 
because  the  farmer  wishes  to  provide  work  for  him- 
self and  his  laborers  all  the  time.  It  is  not  well, 
however,  to  have  too  many  crops,  because  they  may 
call  for  too  much  machinery.  A  farmer  can  not 
afford  to  buy  the  necessary  tools  for  potatoes  or 
wheat  or  orchards  unless  he  has  a  fair-sized  field 
in  such  crops.  But  small  vegetables  and  fruit  for 
home  use  should  all  be  raised  on  every  farm  in 
gardens  and  small  orchards. 

Rotation  of  Crops.  Rotation  means  that  the  crops 
grown  on  each  field  are  changed  every  year  or  two. 
Nearly   every   successful   farmer   does  this.     Still 


SOILS  93 

there  are  fields  that  have  never  grown  any  crop  but 
cotton;  others,  nothing  but  wheat.  This  is  bad  for 
the  land,  and  the  thoughtful  farmer  does  not  prac- 
tice it. 

Good  Reasons  for  Rotation.  By  rotating  and 
having  several  different  crops,  the  laborers  and 
teams  are  kept  busy.    The  farmer  has  some  crops 


Courtesy  of  AgricuUural  Experiment  Station,  Wisconsin 

Fio.  53.  Clover  sod  with  potash  and  phosphorus  fertilizer  yielded  S6 
bushels  of  com  per  acre,  shown  at  the  left,  as  compared  with  13.5 
bushels  where  potash  and  phosphorus  were  used  without  clover, 
shown  in  the  center,  and  28.5  bushels  where  peat,  potash,  and  phos- 
phorus were  used,  shown  on  the  right.  This  shows  the  importance 
of  adding  nitrogen  and  organic  matter  to  sandy  soils. 

to  sell  and  some  to  feed.  He  also  escapes  a  total 
crop  failure,  and  he  keeps  his  soil  in  better  condi- 
tion. By  growing  the  same  crops  on  the  same  fields 
year  after  year,  certain  weeds  get  the  upper  hand. 
By  changing  crops,  these  weeds  are  checked,  be- 
cause the  crops  are  worked  at  different  times  and 
in  different  ways.    Then,  too,  there  are  some  plant 


94  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTURE 

diseases  and  insects  that  will  get  a  big  start  unless 
other  crops  are  introduced  on  the  field.  When  in- 
sects find  their  favorite  crop  gone  and  one  growing 
that  they  do  not  like,  they  are  without  food  and 
starve  to  death.  But  perhaps  the  most  important 
reason  for  rotation  is  to  keep  up  the  supply  of 
humus  in  the  soil  by  growing  clover,  alfalfa,  or  cow- 
peas  and  plowing  them  under  to  restore  the  vege 
table  mould  or  humus. 

Rotating  in  the  North.  There  are  different  sys- 
tems or  methods  of  rotating  crops.  Many  good 
farmers  in  the  Northern  states  divide  their  farms 
into  five  fields,  and  on  each  field  they  raise  corn, 
followed  by  oats,  then  by  wheat,  then  clover,  and 
lastly  by  timothy.  Then  they  plow  the  timothy 
stubble  and  again  start  with  corn.  Try  to  make 
five  diagrams  or  maps  to  show  what  each  field  con- 
tains each  of  the  five  years. 

In  Potato  States.  In  some  potato-raising  sections, 
they  have  a  three-year  rotation:  a  crop  of  potatoes 
is  followed  by  one  of  wheat  or  oats,  and  that  by  a 
clover  crop.  Such  a  farm  is  divided  into  three  fields. 
In  the  Corn  Belt  a  good  rotation  is  corn  for  two 
years,  next  oats,  and  then  clover  and  timothy. 

Rotation  for  Cotton.  For  cotton  plantations  a 
good  system  is:  Cotton  the  first  year,  followed  the 
second  year  by  corn  with  cowpeas  planted  between 
the  rows  or  sown  broadcast  just  before  the  last  cul- 
tivation of  the  corn;  the  third  year  oats  are  grown, 
and  they  are  followed  by  cowpeas  the  same  season. 


SOILS  95 

Phosphorus  a  Plant  Food.  We  have  learned  that 
a  plant  needs  many  plant  foods,  but  the  most  of 
them  are  usually  found  in  the  soil  and  in  the  air 
and  water  in  great  plenty.  If  the  farmer  needs  to 
l)ut  nitrogen  in  his  soil,  he  may  do  it  best  by  sowing 
a  crop  of  red  clover,  alfalfa,  or  cowpeas.  But  all 
l)lant  foods  ,can  not  be  put  back  into  the  soil  by  a 
crop.  If  a  farmer  raises  and  sells  corn  or  wheat, 
he  is  taking  out  of  his  soil  and  shipping  away  one 
important  plant  food  called  phosphorus.  Most  of 
tjie  phosphorus  that  corn  and  other  grains  require 
before  they  can  grow  well,  they  store  up  in  their 
seed  or  grain.  And  when  this  grain  is  sent  away 
to  market,  it  takes  with  it  three-fourths  of  the  phos- 
phorus used  by  the  crop. 

Putting  Phosphorus  Back.  This  must  be  put  back 
into  the  soil  somehow;  and  it  may  be  done  by  pur 
chasing  bone  meal  from  stockyards  companies  who 
buy  and  slaughter  our  stock,  or  by  purchasing 
manure  for  our  fields  or  by  buying  rock  phosphate 
from  the  places  in  Tennessee  or  Florida  where  this 
mineral  is  mined  and  ground  for  fertilizer. 

Keeping  Up  the  Land.  Phosphorus  is  the  plant 
food  most  likely  to  be  wanting  in  our  rolling 
l)rairies,  in  the  hilly  timber  lands,  and  in  soils  worn 
out  by  long  cultivation.  If  clover  will  not  grow 
well,  one  may  feel  pretty  sure  his  fields  need  phos- 
y)horus,  and,  perhaps,  lime.  For  most  farms,  all  that 
is  needed  to  keep  them  up  is  plenty  of  rock  phos- 
phate, with  a  crop  of  clover,  alfalfa,  or  cowpeas,  in 
rotation  and   all  the   manure  made  on  the  farm. 


CHAPTER  XII 
PLANTS  AND  HOW  THEY  GROW 

Learning  about  Plants.  Since  men  and  animals 
live  largely  on  plants,  and  farmers  are  kept  busy 
growing  crops  to  feed  the  world,  we  want  to  know 
more  about  how  plants  grow  and  produce  seed.  We 
may  easily  see  what  the  animals  about  us  eat  and 
drink,  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  learn  just  how  plants 
eat  and  grow  and  bear  fruit. 

Dividing  Their  Work.  Plants  need  food,  water, 
and  air,  just  as  animals  do.  They  also  need  warmth 
and  light.  The  plant  has  different  parts — a  stem, 
roots,  leaves,  and  flowers.  It  divides  its  work  up 
among  these  parts.  The  roots  of  the  plants  have 
their  work,  and  it  is  different  from  that  of  the  stem 
and  leaves. 

Roots  and  Their  Work.  Let  us  first  look  at  the 
roots.  Pull  up  a  radish  from  the  garden,  and  you 
notice  that  the  upper  part  of  the  root  is  large  and 
round  and  is  stored  full  of  food.  Below  is  a  tap 
root  which  grows  smaller  and  smaller  to  the  end 
several  inches  down.  All  along  this  tap  root  are 
tiny  rootlets  with  root  hairs  branching  off  from 
them.  These  root  hairs  cover  only  the  tips  of  the 
smallest  rootlets,  but  they  extend  out  in  all  direc- 
tions. They  are  very  close  together,  for  often  there 
are  as  many  as  thirty  thousand  on  one  square  inch, 

96 


PLANTS  AND  HOW  THEY  GROW         97 

They  are  not  young  roots,  because  they  never  grow 
larger.  They  are  only  tiny  little  hollow  tubes  which 
contain  sap.  They  have  no  pores,  or  holes  for  water 
to  enter,  but  it  easily  soaks  through  their  thin  walls. 
Thus  these  root  hairs  drink  in  the  soil  water  which 
contains  many  of  the  plant  foods;  and  the  sap  car- 
ries this  watery  food  up  along  the  larger  roots  and 
stem  to  the  leaves.  Here  the  sunshine  helps  to  make 
the  plant  food  ready  to  build  up  the  stem,  leaves, 
and  the  fruit  of  the  plant.  The  larger  roots  do  not 
take  plant  food  from  the  soil.  Their  work  is  to  hold 
the  plant  firmly  in  its  place  in  spite  of  storms  and 
heavy  rains.  When  a  plant  is  taken  up  to  be  trans- 
planted, most  of  the  small  rootlets  with  their  many 
long  hairs  are  broken  off.  Perhaps  you  can  now 
understand  why  a  plant  is  so  likely  to  wilt  when  it 
is  transplanted. 

The  Stem.  The  stem,  or  trunk,  bears  the  leaves 
and  holds  them  up  in  the  air  and  sunshine.  It  car- 
ries the  watery  plant  foods  from  the  roots  up 
through  the  outer  wood  layer  to  the  leaves.  The 
materials,  or  starch  and  sugar  from  the  leaves,  pass 
down  through  the  bark  to  the  part  where  they  are 
needed  to  enlarge  the  plant. 

The  Leaves.  But  more  interesting  than  roots  or 
stem  are  the  leaves.  They  serve  as  so  many  stom- 
achs where  the  •plant  food  is  digested  and  made 
ready  for  use.  The  chief  work  of  the  leaves  is  to 
make  the  plant  foods  over  into  starch  and  sugar. 
They  take  a  large  part  of  this  starch  and  sugar, 


98  ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTURE 

called  carbon,  from  the  air,  but  the  othef  parts  come 
to  the  leaves  through  the  root  hairs.  The  leaves 
also  give  off  to  the  air  all  the  water  that  is  not 
needed  by  the  plants.  If  the  leaves  give  off  more 
moisture  than  the  roots  supply,  as  they  often  do  on 
very  hot  days,  the  plant  wilts  in  order  to  prevent 
further  evaporation. 

The  Flower.  The  starch  and  sugar  made  by  the 
leaves  is  either  stored  up  for  food  or  used  at  once 
to  build  plant  tissue.  When  enough  has  been  stored, 
the  plant  begins  to  flower.  The  flower  is  sometimes 
beautiful  like  the  apple  blossom,  but  often,  as  in 
the  wheat  or  oats,  it  is  not  showy. 

The  Seed.  The  flower  of  plants  has  a  very  im- 
portant work  to  do,  because  it  contains  the  parts 
which  create  the  fruit.  The  fruit  contains  the  seeds 
from  which  new  plants  may  be  grown.  If  the  flower 
fails  to  do  its  work,  there  will  be  no  fruit,  no  seeds, 
and  no  new  plant,  unless  a  new  plant  can  be  started 
from  a  slip  or  cutting  of  the  old  plant. 

The  Father  and  Mother.  The  flowers  of  different 
plants  differ  very  much,  but  they  usually  have  two 
parts.  One  is  the  ^^pistiP^  or  mother  part,  which 
contains  the  ovary  or  seed  food.  This  seed  food 
will  not  grow  into  seed  unless  it  receives  some  pollen 
or  yellow  dust  that  grows  on  another  part  called 
the  ' '  stamen. ' '  The  seed  itself  is  ^  tiny  baby  plant 
all  tucked  under  a  good  cover  with  food  enough  for 
it  to  live  on  until  it  can  send  out  rootlets  into  the 
ground. 


PLANTS  AND  HOW  THEY  GKOW  99 

The  Corn  Flowers.  Every  plant  must  have  its 
flowers  with  their  stamens  and  pistil,  but  the  sta- 
mens and  pistil  are  not  always  together  in  the  same 
flower.  Examine  a  cornstalk  as  it  grows.  The 
tassel  is  the  stamen,  or  father  flower,  with  its  yellow 
dust,  or  pollen;  and  the  ear  is  the  pistil,  or  mother 
flower.  If  the  pollen  does  not  fall  from  the  tassel 
on  the  silks  of  the  ear  to  fertilize  the  ear,  there  will 
not  be  a  grain  of  corn  on  the  cob. 

Carrying  the  Pollen.  The  corn  is  only  one  of 
many  plants  that  have  their  male  and  female  flowers 
separate.  Such  plants  depend  partly  upon  the  wind 
to  carry  the  pollen  from  the  father  flower  to  the 
pistil  where  the  new  seed  is  to  grow.  Some  plants 
depend  upon  insects  to  carry  the  pollen  for  them. 
So  these  plants  have  developed  bright  colored 
flowers  that  the  insects  can  easily  see.  They  also 
secrete  a  sweet  food,  or  nectar,  to  reward  the  in- 
sects for  their  trouble.  They  hold  out  bright  red 
and  yellow  and  blue  petals  and  say  to  the  insects. 
*'Here  you  can  get  good  honey.'' 

Night  Workers.  Some  plants  depend  upon  in- 
sects that  fly  only  at  night  to  carry  their  pollen. 
These  plants  do  not  have  bright  flowers,  because 
colors  cannot  be  seen  well  in  the  darkness.  They 
have  white  flowers;  and  to  aid  the  insects  in  finding 
tliem  they  have  a  strong,  sweet  odor  or  fragrance 
that  guides  their  friends.  The  insects  come  from 
far  and  near  for  the  sweets.  They  brush  against 
the  stamens  and  get  covered  with  yellow  pollen  dust. 


100  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

Away  they  go  to  other  flowers,  leaving  some  of  this 
pollen  on  every  plant  they  touch.  When  they  go 
in  deep  for  the  honey,  they  leave  pollen  on  the  pistil 
just  where  it  is  needed. 

Pollen  from  Other  Plants.  Plants  bear  the  strong- 
est and  best  fruit  and  seeds  when  the  pollen  has 
been  brought  to  them  from  another  plant.  In  a 
cornfield  the  ears  on  one  stalk  may  receive  pollen 
from  its  own  tassel  and  from  a  dozen  others  stand- 
ing near.  Sometimes  when  a  farmer  wants  corn  for 
seed,  he  goes  about  a  certain  part  of  his  corn  lot 
before  the  silks  come  out  and  cuts  off  the  tassels 
of  all  the  poor  stalks.  ^In  this  way  he  allows  the 
ears  to  receive  pollen  from  only  the  strongest  plants. 

Kinds  of  Plants.  There  are  thousands  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  plants  in  the  world.  Perhaps  there 
was  a  time  when  the  world  was  young  when  there 
were  very  few  plants.  But  as  they  spread  over  the 
earth  they  found  different  kinds  of  homes.  Some 
seeds  were  gradually  carried  into  cold  regions,  and 
others  into  hot  places;  some  found  wet  spots,  and 
others  came  into  deserts.  Some  found  homes  on 
high,  rough  mountain  tops  where  the  storms  raged 
about  them,  while  others  fell  into  low,  shady  nooks 
where  they  were  protected. 

How  They  Came  to  be  Different.  As  the  plants 
were  slowly  carried  into  such  different  kinds  of 
homes,  they  kept  fighting  for  life  and  food.  Often 
many  plants  were  struggling  for  air  and  sunshine 
on  the  same  little  spot;  and  only  those  that  proved 


PLANTS  AND  HOW  THEY  ,GEOW  IQl 

good  fighters  lived.  Slowly  but-  si^ireLy  inany.  o.f 
these  plants  changed  to  meec  their  tiew  ^rrolnld- 
ings  and  became  unlike  their  early  parents  and  even 
unlike  their  close  kin.  Each  one  set  to  work  to  pro- 
tect itself  and  get  its  own  food,  and  thus  it  slowly 
developed  new  i3arts,  new  ways  of  growing,  and 
new  ways  of  fighting  for  food.  Only  the  best  and 
strongest  plants  lived  to  spread  their  seed.  In  this 
way  the  world  came  to  be  covered,  with  untold 
multitudes  of  different  kinds  of  plants. 

One  Interesting  Habit.  It  is  interesting  to  study 
about  the  habits  of  different  plants  and  how  they 
grow  and  spread  their  kind.  One  of  the  important 
things  about  them  that  the  farmer  needs  to  kn6w  is 
how  they  scatter  their  seed,  because  many  weeds 
grow  and  fight  for  life  where  the  farmer  does  not 
want  them. 

Scattering  Their  Seed.  Some  plants,  like  the 
cocoanut,  grow  their  seed  in  a  hard  shell  which  is 
waterproof,  and  in  this  they  float  on  streams  and 
rivers  to  new  homes.  The  seeds  of  the  maple  and 
ash  trees  have  wings,  and  on  these  they  sail  away 
across  the  fields  wherever  the  wind  will  carry  them. 
The  dandelion  seed  has  a  queer  little  balloon  on 
which  the  wind  carries  it  to  some  far-away  home. 
Then  we  know  the  burdocks  and  stick  tights  that 
catch  in  our  clothes  or  fasten  themselves  on  passing 
animals  and  hold  tight  for  a  long  ride,  to  fall  at 
last  and  set  up  housekeeping  in  a  new  region.  Any 
boy  or  girl  who  will  examine  the  seeds  of  plants 


102  oELEME:IJITARY  AGEICULTUKE 

^nd  do  a  little  thinkmg  will  discover  many  inter- 
estihg  iand  woiiderful  secrets  about  their  different 
habits. 

How  Man  Helps.  Man  has  chosen  certain  plants 
that  furnish  food  for  him  and  his  flocks,  and  these 
he  tries  to  help  to  good  homes  where  they  will  grow 
and  bring  forth  their  harvest  of  grain  or  fruit.  He 
spreads  and  sows  these  plants  in  several  different 
ways.  He  sows  the  seed  of  the  common  grains  or 
cereals,  and  covers  them  with  earth.  Sweet  potatoes 
are  grown  from  slips  or  plants;  Irish  potatoes,  from 
the  ^^eyes^'  of  the  potato;  grapevines  from  cuttings 
or  twigs  clipped  from  the  vine.  Sugar  cane  is  grown 
by  planting  a  short  piece  of  the  stalk.  Many  plants 
do  not  come  true  from  seed,  and  man  has  learned 
to  grow  them  by  grafting  or  budding.  A  bud  or 
graft  twig  is  taken  from  one  plant  and  so  carefully 
put  upon  another  that  it  will  grow  as  part  of  the 
plant.  And  the  strange  thing  about  it  is  that  it  will 
produce  its  own  kind  of  fruit  and  not  the  kind  of 
the  plant  on  which  it  is  grafted.  There  is  no  end  to 
the  wonderful  things  man  is  learning  to  do  with 
plants. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  What  are  some  of  the  parts  of  a  plant?  (2)  How 
do  root  hairs  differ  from  true  roots?  (3)  How  do  root 
hairs  take  in  the  plant  food?  (4)  Can  you  now  tell  why 
a  transplanted  plant  often  wilts  or  dies?  (5)  How  does 
the  food  pass  from  the  roots  to  the  leaves?  (6)  Why 
does  it  need  to  go  to  the  leaves  at  all?  (7)  Why  do 
plants  have  seeds? 


CHAPTER  XIII 

TILLAGE  AND  FARM  MACHINERY 

Sowing  and  Reaping  in  Olden  Times.  For  thou- 
sands of  years  after  men  learned  to  plant  seed  they 
tilled  the  soil  with  a  forked  stick.  Their  only  object 
seemed  to  be  to  get  the  seed  covered  in  the  ground. 
In  Egypt  for  long  ages  seed  was  scattered  broad- 
cast by  hand  and  herds  of  cattle  were  driven  over 
the  ground  to  tramp  it  in.  These  ancient  people 
reaped  their  grain  with  a  crooked  knife  and  beat 
the  kernels  from  the  husks  and  chaff  with  a  stick,  or 


Fig.  54.     The  best  and  cheapest  fertilizer. 

flail.    Sometimes  they  drove  their  cattle  over  it  on 
the  ))arn  floor  to  thresh  it.    Tlien  it  was  ground  into 

103 


104  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

meal  in  stone  basins  with  stone  pestles.  The  crooked 
stick  also  served  to  dig  the  root  crops. 

Wearing  Out  the  Soil.  Men  of  those  times  did  not 
know  how  to  cultivate  crops.  They  knew  that  weeds 
injured  the  crops,  but  they  did  not  know  that  it  was 
because  the  weeds  took  the  plant  food,  water,  and 
air  that  their  grain  needed.  When  the  land  failed 
to  bring  a  good  harvest,  the  farmer  concluded  that 
the  field  needed  a  rest;  so  he  rested  it,  or,  as  we  say, 
let  it  lie  fallow  for  one  year.  He  did  not  know 
what  we  do  to-day — that  his  land  only  needed  a 
rotation  of  .crops,  that  is,  a  different  crop  planted 
each  year,  or  that  barnyard  manure  would  make  it 
fertile  again  (Fig.  54). 

Jethro  TuU.  About  two  hundred  years  ago  there 
lived  in  England  a  landlord  named  Jethro  Tull.  He 
watched  his  crops  closely  and  soon  saw  that  the 
fields  he  worked  or  tilled  the  most  brought  the 
largest  crops.  He  taught  other  farmers  that  tillage 
was  the  most  important  part  of  farming.  He  be- 
lieved that  fields  would  never  wear  out  if  they 
were  always  cultivated  thoroughly.  He  thought  that 
plants  took  their  food  in  solid  little  grains  or  parti- 
cles, and  the  only  thing  needed  was  to  break  up  the 
soil  very  fine  and  the  plants  would  eat  it  as  a  calf 
eats  bran.  We  know  that  Tull  was  mistaken  in 
thinking  that  plants  take  their  food  in  solid  form, 
but  he  did  a  great  service  to  his  farmer  friends  and 
to  all  the  farmers  siuise  that  time  by  showing  them 
how  important  tillage  is  (Figs.  55a  and  55b). 


TILLAGE  AND  FARM  MACHINERY  105 


Courtesy  TJ.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 
Fig.  55a.     A  field  in  poor  tilth.     Crops  in  such  cloddy  soil  have  a 
small  chance. 


'.uurtesy  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 
Flo.  55b.     A  field  in  good  tilth.     The  best  time  to  cultivate  a  crop  is 
before  planting  it. 

Feeding  Plants.  We  know  that  plants  can  use 
only  the  plant  food  that  is  prepared  for  them.  If 
it  is  not  in  the  right  form,  it  makes  no  difference 


106  ELEMENTAKY  AGRICULTURE 

how  much  food  is  in  the  soil,  the  plants  will  die 
in  the  midst  of  plenty.  It  is  the  farmer's  task  to 
see  that  the  plant  food  in  his  soil  is  ready  for  his 
crops  to  use,  and  he  tills  the  soil  so  that  moisture 
can  enter  and  be  kept  near  the  roots.  Tillage 
loosens  the  soil  so  air  can  enter.  Tillage  also  keeps 
down  the  weeds  that  steal  the  plant  food  and  keep 
out  the  sunlight  and  warmth  that  the  crops  need. 
We  can  see  that  a  great  deal  depends  upon  the 
farmer's  stirring  his  soil  at  the  right  time. 

Keeping  Moisture  in  the  Soil.  The  well-tilled  soil 
is  broken  into  very  fine  grains  or  particles  (Fig.  55). 
These  fine  particles  will  hold  much  more  water  than 
coarse  ones,  because  each  tiny  grain  has  its  own 
coat  of  moisture.  This,  you  remember,  is  the  reason 
clay  soil  will  hold  more  moisture  than  sandy  soil. 
Clay  does  not  drink  it  in  so  rapidly,  but- it  holds  on 
to  it  better. 

Moisture  passes  easily  from  wet  grains  of  earth 
to  dry  ones  that  touch  them,  so  we  see  that  the 
looser  the  soil  is  the  fewer  are  the  particles  which 
touch  one  another.  If  they  do  not  touch  one  another, 
water  cannot  pass  so  easily  from  wet  particles  to 
dry  ones  and  in  this  way  climb  to  the  surface  and 
pass  off  into  the  air.  The  surface  soil  especially 
must  be  loose  to  keep  the  moisture  from  evaporat- 
ing, or  getting  back  into  the  air. 

The  Dust  Mulch.  The  loose  layer  of  surface, 
which  we  call  dust  mulch,  acts  just  like  a  blanket. 
Turn  over  a  log  or  a  board  in  the  barn  lot  in  tlie 


TILLAGE  AND  FARM   MACHINERY  107 

spring  and  you  will  find  the  soil  under  it  more  damp 
than  the  ground  not  covered.  The  board  has  kept 
the  moisture  from  passing  off  into  the  air.  When 
we  remember  how  much  moisture  crops  need;  we 
will  see  how  important  the  dust  mulch  is.  Every 
time  it  rains  hard  it  packs  this  mulch  down,  and  the 
farmer  should  cultivate  his  crop  again,  to  loosen  the 
top  soil. 

Dry  Farming.  Perhaps  you  have  read  or  heard  of 
dry  farming.  In  many  places  in  our  great  West 
there  is  not  enough  rainfall  in  a  year  to  raise  a  crop. 
But  if  all  that  falls  in  two  years  could  be  kept,  it 
would  raise  one  crop.  The  farmers  have  learned 
that  if  they  keep  a  dry  mulch  on  the  ground  and 
save  all  the  rainfall  of  one  year,  they  have  a  pretty 
good  chance  to  raise  a  crop  the  second  year.  It 
means  that  they  must  cultivate  or  till  the  ground 
for  two  seasons  to  get  one  crop,  but  that  is  better 
than  raising  nothing  at  all  on  these  wide,  dry  areas. 
Where  rainfall  is  less  than  twenty  inches  per  year, 
dry  farming  or  irrigation  must  be  practiced. 

Irrigation.  Two-fifths  of  the  land  of  the  United 
States  is  too  dry  to  produce  regular  crops  without 
irrigation.  By  irrigation  is  meant  the  storing  of 
water  in  lakes  and  reservoirs  by  means  of  huge 
dams.  This  is  done  in  the  rainy  season,  when  there 
is  plenty  to  be  had.  This  water  is  then  turned  on 
the  fields  by  means  of  ditches  when  crops  are  grow- 
ing, where  it  takes  the  place  of  rainfall  (Fig.  56). 
Some  reservoirs  are  supplied  from  rivers  that  flow 


108 


ELEMENTABY  AGBlCtJLTtJBE 


the  year  round,  while  others  must  be  filled  in  the 
rainy  season.     The  United  States  Government  is 


Fig.  56.     A  private  irrigation  plant. 


spending  millions  of  dollars  in  the  dry  sections  to 
save  for  crops  some  of  the  water  that  is  going  to 
waste. 

Making  Machinery  Better.  A  slight  improvement 
on  the  crooked  stick  was  a  rude  plow  made  from 
several  sticks  bound  with  thongs  of  skin.  This  was 
used  after  the  ox  had  been  taught  to  bear  the  yoke. 
Farming  with  such  tools  was  hard  and  toilsome 
labor  with  little  reward.  A  brush  dragged  over  the 
plowed  ground  was  probably  the  first  harrow. 

Copper  Tools.  It  was  a  great  step  forward  when 
some  one  learned  to  smelt  copper.    Though  copper 


TILLAGE  AND  FARM  MACHINERY 


109 


is  soft  and  will  not  take  on  a  sharp  edge,  yet  it  made 
far  better  tools  than  did  sticks.  The  next  step  was 
made  when  it  was  found  that  by  mixing  tin  ore  with 
.copper  a  much  harder  tool  could  be  made,  with  a 
better  edge.  This  mixture  is  called  bronze.  Bronze 
tools  were  used  for  untold  ages  until  some  clever 
man  found  out  how  to  make  a  fire  hot  enough  to 
smelt  iron  ore.  When  iron  tools  and  weapons  were 
made,  we  have  the  beginning  of  all  the  wonderful 
machinery  in  use  to-day. 

The  First  Iron  Tools.  Iron  tools  were  few  and 
costly  at  first,  because  the  warriors  needed  all  the 
iron  they  could  get  for  their  weapons.  But  men 
learned  at  last  to  make  hillside  furnaces  for  smelt- 
ing iron  ore,  and  then  the  farmer  got  a  few  iron 


r~ 

.-,, 

^i£u>,  • 

1 

^^^^^H^^^^^^^Hfl|^r^Fj^^ ... 

I 

'' 

l^HH 

..        -    m 

Fig.  57.     Put  the  soil  in  yood  tilth  with  a  dish  huiiuw  utfviu  voicing. 


110 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTUEE 


tools.  The  day  came  when  some  clever  farmer  put 
an  iron  share  on  his  plow  to  cut  the  soil.  From  that 
day  to  this  men  have  gradually  improved  iron  farm 
tools,  and  the  splendid  horse-power  machines  of  al] 


Fig.  58.     A   tractor  engine  drawing  four  ploics. 

descriptions  which  do  farm  work  to-day  are  the 
result  of  the  wonderful  inventions  of  many  bright 
minds. 

Farm  Machinery  of  To-Day.  The  poorest  farmer 
of  to-day  has  a  plow  to  turn  the  sod  and  stir  the 
soil  deeply;  he  has  a  cultivator  to  tear  and  break 
the  soil,  and  a  harrow  to  make  it  fine  like  ashes 
for  the  dust  mulch   (Fig.  57).     Certain  soils  that 


TILLAGE  AND  FARM  MACHINERY  m 

are  sandy  and  too  loose  need  rollers  to  pack  them 
slightly.  Every  sort  of  harvester  has  been  devised 
for  gathering  the  crop.  But  farmers  have  not  been 
content  with  horse  power  alone.  They  have  har- 
nessed the  wind  to  their  windmills,  they  have 
hitched  their  plows  and  harvesters  to  great  steam 
engines  (Fig.  58),  and  they  are  using  the  power 
of  gasoline  engines  to  do  many  kinds  of  work  about 
the  farm  (Fig.  59).  Even  electricity  may  be  had 
where  there  is  a  waterfall  to  make  it  cheaply. 

Care  of  Machinery.  It  is  important  that  the 
farmer  take  good  care  of  his  machinery  and  tools. 
More  plows  have  been  rusted  out  by  the  weather 
than  have  been  worn  out  by  use.  There  are  three 
good  rules  for  every  farm.  Keep  all  tools  under  a 
good  roof  when  they  are  not  in  use.  See  that  all 
machinery,    wagons,    and   the   like   are   kept   well 


Fig.  59.     A  gas  engine  is  a  great  labor  saver  on  the  farm. 


112  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

painted,  so  tliey  will  last  longer  and  save  the  farmer 
from  buying  new  ones  early.  Use  plenty  of  oil  to 
save  wear  on  all  machinery.  Oil  and  paint  cost 
money;  but  if  thirty-five  cents'  worth  of  paint  will 
make  a  thirty-five-dollar  machine  last  several  years 
longer,  it  pays  to  use  the  paint. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  Who  was  Jethro  Tull  and  what  do  we  owe  to  him? 
(2)  What  do  we  mean  by  saying  that  plant  food  must 
be  in  the  right  form?  (3)  How  may  a  farmer  save  the 
moisture  in  his  soil  for  the  crop?  (4)  What  is  meant 
by  a  dust  mulch?  (5)  What  is  dry  farming?  (6)  In 
what  different  ways  is  water  obtained  for  irrigation?  (7) 
What  are  the  objections  to  copper  tools?  (8)  In  what 
way  is  bronze  better  for  tools?  (9)  Why  was  it  so  long 
before  iron  tools  were  made?  (10)  What  invention  do 
you  think  has  meant  most  to  the  farmer?    (11)    Why? 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments,  refer  to  the 
Appendix. 


CHAPTER  Xir 
COEN 

America  and  Corn  Discovered.  When  Columbus 
sailed  toward  the  west  over  the  unknown  ocean,  he 
hoped  to  reach  the  rich  cities  of  Asia  and  the  Spice 
Islands.  Here  he  expected  to  obtain  a  rich  cargo 
of  spices,  some  of  which  were  worth  their  weight 
in  gold.  But,  instead  of  reaching  China,  Columbus 
landed  upon  a  new  world  where  white  men  had 
never  been  before.  Instead  of  rich  cities,  he  found 
only  a  vast  wilderness  inhabited  by  savages  whom 
he  named  Indians.  The  Indians  lived  by  hunting 
and  fishing  and  by  raising  a  few  plants  which  were 
new  and  strange  to  Columbus  and  his  sailors.  These 
were  squashes,  tobacco,  and  maize,  or  corn.  Colum- 
bus never  knew  what  a  wonderful  golden  treasure 
he  had  found  in  this  Indian  corn.  It  has  come  to 
be  one  of  the  most  valuable  crops  in  the  world. 
When  the  com  crops  fail  there  is  a  scarcity  of  food 
for  rich  and  poor  and  hard  times  for  everybody  for 
many  months. 

Corn  Saves  the  Pioneers.  This  Indian  corn  was  a 
great  blessing  to  the  early  immigrants  from  Europe, 
for  the  wheat  and  rye  which  they  had  brought  with 
them  would  grow  only  in  well-tilled  fields  and  these 
pioneers  were  poor  farmers  with  poor  tools.  There 
were  no  well-tilled  fields,  and  men  would  not  work. 

113 


114  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

They  would  have  starved  if  the  Indians  had  not  fur- 
nished them  with  ,corn.  The  Indians  taught  the 
white  men  from  Europe  how  to  raise  corn  and  how 
to  make  from  it  dishes  fit  for  a  king  to  eat. 

Indian  Farming.  The  Indian  methods  of  farming 
were  very  crude  and  simple,  for  they  knew  very  little 
about  tilling  the  soil.  The  Indian  squaws  killed  a 
patch  of  forest  trees  by  cutting  a  girdle  around  each 
one  when  the  sap  was  running  in  the  spring.  After 
the  trees  died  and  the  sunlight  shone  in,  the  squaws 
scratched  the  grains  of  seed  corn  into  the  ground, 
with  a  crooked,  sharp  stick  for  a  hoe.  Here,  without 
the  use  of  plow  or  harrow,  the  corn  sprang  up  in  the 
rich  earth,  and  a  harvest  of  yellow  ears  provided 
food  for  winter. 

Where  Corn  Grows.  Since  that  time  corn  has 
been  one  of  the  chief  crops  of  the  American  farmer 
in  most  sections,  and  to-day  it  is  the  most  important 
of  all.  Corn  can  be  raised  in  nearly  every  part  of 
North  America.  In  the  North,  where  the  summers 
are  short,  the  farmers  have  developed  a  kind  that 
grows  only  three  or  four  feet  high  and  that  will 
ripen  in  seventy  days.  In  the  Southern  countries 
of  Mexico  and  South  America  there  are  kinds  of 
corn  that  grow  more  than  twenty  feet  high  and 
require  six  months  in  which  to  ripen. 

The  Corn  Belt.  Corn  is  now  raised  in  many  coun- 
tries, but  about  three-fourths  of  the  world's  supply 
is  grown  in  the  United  States,  and  nearly  one-half 
of  the  world's  supply  in  the  seven  states  known  as 


COKN  115 

the  Corn  Belt.  They  are  Illinois,  Iowa,  Nebraska, 
Missouri,  Kansas,  Indiana,  and  Ohio.  The  Corn 
Belt  supplies  many  other  states  and  countries  with 
its  surplus  of  corn.  Besides  a  good  soil  in  which 
to  grow,  corn  needs  hot  weather  with  long  days  of 
bright  sunshine  and  a  great  amount  of  rain. 

A  Corn  Train.  If  the  corn  crop  of  the  United 
States  in  one  yenr  was  placed  in  wagons,  with  fifty 
bushels  in  each  load,  and  each  wagon  and  team  had 
been  allowed  twenty  feet  of  space,  the  train  of  corn 
would  have  reached  more  than  nine  times  around 
the  earth  at  the  equator. 

Com  Land  Valuable.  Where  corn  thrives,  it 
yields  about  twice  as  much  food  for  each  acre  as  is 
produced  by  any  of  the  other  grains.  That  is  the 
reason  why  land  in  the  Corn  Belt  is  very  high  in 
price.  Corn  is  grown  in  many  places  where  only 
a  half-crop  is  obtained,  for  a  half-crop  of  corn  yields 
as  much  food  as  a  full  crop  of  wheat  or  rye. 

Choosing  Good  Seed.  It  is  believed  that  the  farm- 
ers in  any  state  in  the  Union  could  increase  the  yield 
of  corn  from  five  to  twenty  bushels  an  acre  if  they 
were  trained  in  choosing  their  seed  corn.  In  order 
to  choose  well  the  farmer  must  be  a  good  judge  of 
an  ear  of  corn.  To  know  a  prize  ear  is  not  such  a 
difficult  lesson  to  learn. 

The  Prize  Ear.  A  perfect  ear  should  be  round, 
tapering,  and  full  and  strong  in  the  middle.  It 
must  be  firm  to  the  touch,  and  the  kernels  should 
not  be  loose  on  the  cob,  as  this  shows  that  the  ear 


116 


ELEMENTAKY  AGEICULTUEE 


Fig.  60. 


is  not  thoroughly  ripened.  The  distance  around  the 
ear  one-third  of  the  distance  from  the  butt  should 
be  about  three-fourths  of  the  entire  length.     The 

rows  of  kernels  must 
be  straight,  and  there 
should  not  be  fewer 
than  sixteen  nor  more 
A  prize  ear.  ^^^^    twenty  -  eight 

rows  on  the  cob.  In  most  sections  the  ear  is  from 
eight  and  one-half  to  ten  inches  long,  and  it  should 
be  filled  out  to  the  tip  (Fig.  60). 

Good  Kernels.  The  kernels  to  be  planted  should 
be  wedge-shaped,  with  the  edges  touching  those  next 
to  them  their  entire  length  from  crown  to  cob.  They 
should  have  deeply  indented  crowns  without  pointed 
or  sharp  corners.  The  color  needs  to  be  true  to 
variety  and  free  from  mixture. 

Cobs.    Ordinary  types  of  white  corn  should  have 


Fig.  61.    A  cob  may  he  .too  large  or  too  small. 

white  cobs,  and  yellow  corn  should  have  red  cobs. 
However,  certain  varieties  of  types  vary  from  this 


COBN 


117 


rule.  The  deeper  or  longer  the  kernel,  the  greater 
the  proportion  of  corn  to  cob.  An  extremely  large 
cob  means  late  ma- 
turity and  less  corn 
in  proportion  to  cob 
(Fig.  61).  The  ears 
should  carry  their 
size  well  out  to  the 
tips.  The  w  i  d  e  I 
the  furrows  between 
the  rows  of  grain  on 
the  cob,  the  lower  the 
proportion  of  corn 
to  cob  (Fig.  62). 

When  to  Select 
Seed.  Some  farmers 
are  satisfied  to 
choose  the  finest 
ears  from  the  crib, 
but  a  better  way  is 
to  select  from  the 
fields  at  husking 
time.  By  taking 
seed  from  stalks 
bearing  two  well- 
formed     ears,     the    Fio.  62.     Space  between  kernels  next  to 


f      -i 

1 

y   0  §1 

I       i| 

hi 

1 

1 

i 

t 

cob,  objectionable.  Ears  Nos.  1  and  2 
are  same  levpth  and  circumference. 
Ear  No.  2  shelled  out  33  per  cent  more 
corn  by  weight  than  No.  1. 


next  crop  will  have 

more    two-eared 

plants,  and  thus  the 

crop  will  be  larger.    In  order  to  choose  seed  for  any 

crop,  it  is  safer  to  see  the  plant  on  which  it  grew. 


118  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

because  like  produces  like.  Careful  selection  of  seed 
is  the  most  profitable  farm  work. 

Curing  the  Seed.  Every  ear  intended  for  planting 
must  be  gathered  before  the  autumn  freezes,  since 
freezing  corn  that  is  not  well  dried  injures  the  seed 
germ.  Seed  corn  should  be  hung  up  where  the  air 
can  circulate  about  it  freely.  A  good  place  to  hang 
seed  corn  is  in  the  attic  over  the  kitchen,  with  the 
windows  open. 

The  Corn  Tree.  The  "corn  tree'^  is  a  device  for 
drying  corn.  It  consists  of  an  upright  post  driven 
full  of  small-headed  nails.  An  ear  of  corn  is  easily 
stuck  on  each  nail  by  jamming  it  into  the  pith  at 
the  butt  end.  A  wall  driven  full  of  nails  will  serve 
the  same  purpose  of  holding  the  ears  apart  so  they 
will  dry  quickly. 

Testing  Seeds.  Every  ear  intended  for  seed 
should  be  tested  to  see  if  the  corn  will  sprout  or 
germinate.  Take  six  seeds  from  each  ear  and  plant 
them  for  a  test,  keeping  the  ear  marked  by  number. 
This  will  insure  a  good  stand  and  prevent  replant- 
ing, which  causes  a  spotted  field  and  a  poor  and 
uneven  crop  (Fig.  63). 

Improving  Corn.  A  good  way  to  improve  the 
variety  is  to  plant  the  seed  from  the  hundred  best 
ears  on  one  side  of  the  field  and  to  choose  the  seed 
for  the  next  year  from  this  planting.  In  this  way  a 
farmer  will  improve  his  crop  every  year. 

Planting  Evenly.  To-day  most  farmers  plant  with 
machines,  and  the  planter  will  not  drop  the  corn 


CORN 


119 


evenly  unless  the  kernels  are  of  the  same  size.    It  is, 
therefore,  wise  to  shell  off  and  discard  the  kernels 


Fk;.  63.     Testing  tirelve  ears  of  seed  corn. 

on  both  the  tip  and  butt  of  the  ear  which  are  of 
irregular  size  and  shape.  The  corn  grader  is  a 
machine  which  will  do  this  work  of  sifting  out  the 
poorly-shaped  kernels,  or  it  may  be  done  by  hand 
if  the  crop  is  small.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  test  the 
corn  planter  to  be  sure  it  will  drop  three  kernels  in  a 
hill. 


120  ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTUEE 


WW 


[^^.z^. 


Fig.  64.     The  old  way  of  spreading  manure  leaves  the  field  unevenly 
fertilized  and  the  crop  grows  and  ripens  unevenly. 

Making  the  Soil  Rich.  The  farmer  prepares  his 
fields  well  before  sowing.  He  adds  to  the  soil  by 
spreading  over  it  barn-yard  manure,  for  manure 
contains  the  most  plant  food  of  anything  he  can 
put  on  his  fields  (Figs.  64  and  65).  Instead  of 
spreading  manure  on  the  corn  lot,  the  farmer  may 
choose  fields  to  plant  where  he  has  the  year  before 
raised  a  crop  of  clover  or  cowpeas,  because  he 
knows  that  these  two  crops  enrich  the  soil  for  corn 
(Fig.  53).  Sometimes  he  buys  a  fertilizer  made  of 
certain  foods  which  the  plant  needs,  but  this  costs 
a  great  deal  of  money. 

How  to  Plow.  To  prepare  the  ground  the  good 
farmer  plows  rather  deep  to  bring  fresh  soil  up  to 
the  air  and  sunshine.  The  air  and  sunshine  help  to 
make  the  plant  food  ready  for  the  little  corn  rootlets 


CORN 


121 


to  take  up.  The  ground  should  not  be  plowed  when 
the  soil  is  very  wet,  for  it  stays  in  hard  lumps  and  is 
not  easily  broken  up  so  the  roots  can  reach  into  the 
earth. 

How  to  Keep  the  Ground  Moist.  The  plow  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  disk  or  spring-tooth  harrow  (Fig.  66) 
until  all  clods  are  broken  and  the  surface  is  mellow 
and  fine  like  ashes.  This  ashy  top  soil  acts  like  a 
blanket  to  keep  the  moisture  in  the  ground  from 
escaping. 

Planting  the  Crop.  Field  corn  should  be  planted 
in  rows  about  three  and  one-half  feet  apart.  Years 
ago  a  few  grains  of  seed  were  dropped  into  each 
hill  by  hand  and  covered  with  a  hoe,  but  to-day  the 
farmer  uses  a  checkrow  planter  drawn  by  a  team. 


Fig.  (i;j.     Manure  should  be  spread  evenly. 


This  machine  plants  the  corn  so  it  can  be  cultivated 
both  ways  and  be  kept  clean  more  easily. 


122 


ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTUEE 


Keeping  the  Weeds  Down.  A  few  days  after 
planting,  the  field  should  be  harrowed  to  kill  the 
grass  and  weeds  that  are  ready  to  sprout,  because 
they  grow  faster  than  the  corn.  "When  the  corn  is 
a  few  inches  high  the  harrow  must  be  used  again  to 
break  the  crust  and  to  supply  air  to  the  soil  as  well 
as  to  keep  the  weeds  and  grass  down. 

Plowing  the  Corn.  The  field  should  be  cultivated 
two  or  three  times  more,  but  after  the  corn  roots 
have  spread  out  between  the  rows,  it  is  not  safe  to 
plow  too  clase  to  the  row  or  too  deep>  for  fear  of 
breaking  off  millions  of  little  rootlets  that  are  feed- 
ing the  plant.  This  applies  also  to  the  raising  of  sweet 
corn  or  pop  corn  and  other  cropp  needing  tillage. 


Fig.  66.     Spring -toofh  harrow. 


CORN 


123 


Gathering  the  Crop.     When  the  lower  leaves  on 
the  stalks  begin  to  die,  the  corn  is  ready  to  cut. 


This  may  be  done  with  a  hand  cutter  or  with  a  corn 
liarvester  (Fig.  67).  About  sixty  hills  are  cut  and 
gathered  into  one  shock.  The  tops  are  bound  to- 
gether so  the  shock  will  stand  while  the  com  cures, 
which  requires  about  six  weeks.  When  the  leaves 
are  dry  the  husking  takes  place,  and  the  ears  are 
stored  in  well-ventilated  cribs  built  high  from  the 
ground  and  protected  from  the  rats  and  mice.  Send  to 
the  Do]);irtmeTif  of  Agriculture  for  plans  for  the  crib. 


124 


ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 


Saving  It  All.  In  some  places  the  corn  is  husked, 
or  picked,  standing  in  the  field  and  the  cornstalks 
are  burned.  This  is  a  great  waste,  for  cornstalks 
make  good  food  for  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep,  and 
they  like  it  very  much.  A  machine  which  husks 
the  corn  and  shreds  the  tops  and  leaves  makes  a 
feed  called  corn  stover  that  is  as  good  for  live  stock 
as  timothy  hay.  Making  fodder  into  stover  saves  it  all. 


•41 

1 

1  '*" 

L 

_f  .?     ,:.. 

^^^^^^^^^^^E_ 

Fig.  6«.    Filling  the  silo. 

A  Great  Discovery.  Every  farmer  knows  that 
cattle  like  green  feed  much  better  than  dry.  But  for 
a  long  time  nobody  knew  how  to  keep  feed  green 
through  the  winter.  Many  years  ago,  in  Europe, 
a  stack  of  wet,  green  grass  was  covered  with  earth 
by  accident.  When  winter  came  this  stack  was 
uncovered  and  the  grass  was  still  green  and  juicy. 
It  was  greatly  relished  by  the  cattle. 


COKN  125 

Building  Silos.  After  that,  farmers  began  to  dig 
pits  in  the  ground  to  keep  feed  green.  Such  pits 
were  called  silos,  and  to-day  they  are  made  above 
ground  of  cement  or  wood  and  placed  flear  the  cattle 
barns  (Fig.  68).  Cattle  will  eat  more  silage  than 
fodder,  and  cows  fed  on  it  give  more  milk.  When 
corn  is  grown  for  the  silo  it  is  planted  about  one 
stalk  every  seven  inches,  in  rows  three  and  one-half 
feet  apart. 

Com  a  Treasure.  Corn  is  the  backbone  of  farm- 
ing in  our  country.  Not  only  is  it  good  for  live 
stock  of  all  kinds,  but  it  feeds  more  people  than 
any  other  grain  except  rice.  Many  useful  things 
are  made  from  corn  besides  the  fodder,  grain,  and 
meal  for  feeding.  The  silks  are  used  in  the  making 
of  filters,  and  corn  husks  are  made  into  mattresses. 
Pith  is  used  for  the  packing  of  cofferdams  of  battle- 
ships. Oil,  varnish,  starch,  alcohol,  and  many  other 
articles  are  made  from  corn.  There  is  one  factory 
in  the  United  States  that  makes  forty-two  different 
corn  products. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  Which  has  meant  more  to  the  world  the  riches  of 
the  Indies  or  the  golden  corn?  (2)  Why?  (3)  Why 
was  corn  more  necessary  to  the  early  pioneers  than  wheat 
or  barley?  (4)  What  makes  land  in  the  corn  belt  so 
valuable?  (5)  What  is  the  best  way  to  choose  seed 
corn?  (6)  Why  does  plowing  ground  when  it  is  wet 
injure  it?  (7)  What  harm  is  done  by  cultivating  corn 
deep  after  it  is  waist  high? 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments,  refer  to  the 
Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XV 
WHEAT 

White  Bread.  Nearly  the  entire  wheat  crop  of 
the  world  is  used  for  human  food.  Wheat  bread  is 
such  a  common  food  in  our  country  now  that  we  do 
not  realize  that  it  is  still  .considered  a  great  treat 
by  some  classes  of  people  in  other  parts  of  the 
world.  The  poor  peasants  in  many  lands  eat  bread 
made  of  rye,  barley,  or  millet,  because  it  is  cheaper 
than  *^ white  bread.''  Millions  of  people  in  Asia 
eat  rice,  but  wheat  flour  makes  a  light  bread  that 
is  more  healthful  and  tempting  than  that  made  by 
any  other  grain;  and  as  fast  as  the  poor  classes  of 
people  can  afford  it,  they  demand  wheat  bread. 

The  First  Wheat  Farmers.  Who  the  first  people 
were  to  raise  wheat  we  do  not  know,  because  it  hap- 
pened, like  so  many  other  interesting  things,  before 
men  learned  to  write.  Neither  do  we  know  where 
it  first  grew.  The  ancient  lake-dwellers  of  Switzer- 
lard  raised  a  kind  of  grain  very  much  like  our 
wheat.  Some  scholars  believe  that  the  early  home 
of  wheat  was  in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  in  western 
Asia.  Others  think  it  first  grew  in  Palestine.  A 
kind  of  wheat  has  lately  been  found  growing  wild 
on  the  mountains  of  Palestine,  and  some  people  are 
sure  that  our  wheat  has  come  from  this  wild  kind. 
Wheat  was  grown  in  China  many  hundred  years 

126 


WHEAT 


127 


before  Christ  lived,  and  the  Chinese  said  that  it  was 
given  to  them  direct  from  heaven. 

Wheat  in  America.  Wheat  was  the  first  grain 
brought  to  our  country  by  the  Jamestown  colony 
in  1607.  These  pioneers  cut  down  forest  trees  to 
build  a  fort,  and  in  the  cleared  places  they  sowed 


I'Ki.  t)".'.      i  l(c  reap  hook,  an  ancient  looi  jor  rcdyiiuj  (jrain. 

wheat.  The  first  crops  were  very  poor,  but  they 
wanted  white  bread,  so  they  kept  planting  a  little 
more  each  year.  The  crops  were  cut  with  the  reap 
hook,  or  sickle,  which  is  merely  a  knife  with  a 
curved,  blade  (Fig.  69).  It  was  threshed  by  being 
trod  u])on  by  horses  and  oxen. 

The  World's  Crop.  Our  country  does  not  produce 
so  large  a  part  of  the  world  *s  wheat  crop  as  it  does 
of  the  corn.  Europe  raises  twice  as  much  wheat  as 
does  North  America.    European  countries  get  twice 


128  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

as  much  from  an  acre  as  we  do,  so  they  can  raise  it 
as  cheaply  as  we  do  on  our  large  farms  in  the  West. 

Kinds  of  Wheat.  There  are  several  kinds  of 
wheat.  Some  kinds  are  sown  in  the  fall  and  remain 
on  the  field  through  the  winter.  Such  kinds  are 
called  winter  wheat.  Others  are  sown  in  the  spring 
and  are  called  spring  wheat. 

Climate.  Wheat  is  better  suited  to  short  summers 
than  is  ,corn,  so  it  can  be  grown  much  farther  north. 
For  several  years  farmers  have  been  moving  by 
hundreds  to  the  wide  prairies  of  western  Canada 
for  this  purpose,  and  they  are  making  it  a  great 
wheat  country. 

Preparing  the  Soil.  This  crop  will  grow  on  a 
great  variety  of  soils,  but  it  seems  to  thrive  best  en  a 
light  clay.  The  land  that  is  to  be  used  for  winter 
wheat  needs  to  be  plowed  as  early  in  the  summer 
as  possible.  Such  early  plowing  loosens  the  ground 
so  it  will  hold  more  moisture.  The  soil  should  be 
made  fine  and  loose.  For  spring  wheat  one  may 
plow  the  fall  before,  or  early  in  the  spring. 

Sowing  the  Seed.  Winter  wheat  is  sown  early  in 
the  fall,  so  that  it  may  grow  strong  before  the  cold 
weather  comes.  Spring  wheat  should  also  be  sown 
early,  because  wheat  will  sprout  and  begin  its 
growth  while  the  weather  is  still  cool.  Six  to  eight 
pecks  of  wheat  are  sown  to  the  acre,  and  the  seed 
is  planted  about  two  inches  deep.  The  lighter  and 
looser  the  soil,  the  deeper  should  be  the  planting. 
In  olden  times  wheat  was  scattered  by  hand  and 


WHEAT 


129 


harrowed  in,  but  now  it  is  nearly  all  sown  by  the 
drill  (Fig.  70).     . 

Cultivation.  In  most  countries  wheat  receives  no 
cultivation  between  the  sowing  and  the  harvesting. 
In  many  places  it  is  harrowed  or  rolled  after  the 
seed  has  begun  to  sprout  or  after  it  has  taken  firm 


di  ill. 


root.  This  is  done  to  kill  weeds  and  to  keep  moisture 
in  the  ground,  as  we  do  for  corn.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  think  that  this  does  more  harm  than  good.  In 
Japan  wheat  is  planted  in  wide  rows  and  hoed. 
Vegetables  are  raised  between  the  rows.  A  hundred 
years  ago  wheat  was  hoed  with  a  mattock.  Wheat 
may  be  pastured  in  the  winter  when  the  ground  is 
frozen,  but  not  late  in  the  spring. 


130 


ELEMENTAKY  AGPICULTUKE 


Fig.  71.     The  cradle  was  a  great  improvement  over  the  reap  hook. 


Wheat  in  Rotation.  Wheat  should  never  be  grown 
on  the  same  fields  year  after  year  with  no  change 
of  ,crop.  It  was  grown  in  England  far  many  years 
to  test  this.  When  it  was  grown  on  the  same  field 
every  year  for  twelve  years  the  average  crop  was  a 
little  more  than  twelve  bushels  to  the  acre.  When 
it  was  grown  every  fourth  year,  with  three  other 
crops  between,  the  yield  for  each  acre  was  twenty- 
eight  bushels,  or  more  than  twice  as  much. 

Enemies  of  Wheat.  Wheat  seems  to  have  more 
enemies  than  any  other  crop  that  the  farmer  raises. 
He  never  knows  when  he  sows  his  fields  what  he 
shall  reap  or  whether  he  shall  reap  at  all.  Very  hot 
or  cold  weather  may  ruin  the  crop.  Drouths  may 
come  and  the  plants  die  of  thirst;  or  it  may  rain  too 
much  and  drown  the  wheat.    Storms  of  hail  or  wind 


WHEAT 


131 


or  floods  may  ruin  it.  Smut,  or  rust,  or  insects  may- 
devour  it.  The  farmer  has  more  risks  to  run  in 
growing  wheat  than  in  almost  any  other  farm  crop, 
yet  mankind  is  willing  to  pay  extra  for  wheat  bread. 
Harvest  Home.  In  most  regions  wheat  must  be 
harvested  very  promptly,  or  much  of  the  crop  may 
be  damaged  or  lost.  Before  good  machinery  was 
invented  it  was  a  very  toilsome  task  to  gather  the 
wheat  crop.  So  much  hard  work  had  been  put  into 
it  and  such  a  long  time  had  gone  by  since  the  grain 
was  sowed  that  the  farmer  was  always  anxious  at 
harvest  time  to  reap  his  crop  and  pay  his  expenses. 
At  the  close  of  the  season  the  people  held  great 
rejoicings,  called  in  England  ** harvest  home.** 
They  formed  a  procession,  with  music,  to  bring 
home  the  last  sheaves  of  grain.    The  workers  and 


ir'iu.  72.     CuLiimj  ichval  with  a  cradle. 


132  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

pretty    maidens    danced    along,    merrily    singing: 

''Harvest  home,  harvest  home, 
We  have  plowed,  we  have  sowed, 
We  have  reaped,  we  have  mowed. 
We  have  brought  home  every  load, 
Hip,  hip,  hip,  harvest  home." 

The  Sickle.  We  have  said  that  many  years  ago 
wheat  was  cut  with  a  reap  hook,  or  sickle,  held  in 
one  hand  (Fig.  69).  A  large  part  of  the  world's 
crop  is  still  cut  in  that  way  among  the  peasants  of 
Russia,  China,  and  Japan.  With  a  sickle  a  good 
worker  can  cut  about  an  acre  a  day. 

The  Scythe  or  Cradle.  The  Romans  thought  they 
could  cut  more  if  they  had  a  longer  blade  and  used 
both  hands,  so  they  invented  the  scythe.  This 
allowed  the  grain  to  fall  over  when  it  was  cut  and 
some  clever  man  placed  wooden  fingers  above  the 
scythe  to  catch  the  grain  and  help  to  lay  it  straight 
for  binding.  This  was  called  the  cradle.  It  is  still 
in  use  in  many  places  in  our  country  for  cutting 
small  patches  of  oats  and  wheat  (Figs.  71  and  72). 

Animal  Power.  But  the  cradle  used  only  hand 
power,  and  men  needed  horse  power  to  save  both 
time  and  money.  The  first  machine  to  use  animal 
power  was  a  wheat-header  used  in  France  about  the 
time  of  Christ.  It  was  a  two-wheeled  cart,  pushed 
by-an  ox  yoked  behind.  On  the  front  edge  of  the 
cart  were  sharp  fingers,  or  teeth,  like  a  big  comb,  to 
catch  the  heads  of  wheat  and  pull  them  off  and  rake 
them  into  the  cart.    This  machine  later  disappeared. 


WHEAT  133 

The  Header.  Hundreds  of  years  later  men  began 
to  make  macliines  with  the  power  in  front.  This 
method  with  horse  power  meant  a  side-cut.  The 
wheat-header  is  a  machine  that  cuts  otf  the  heads 
and  throws  them  into  a  wagoia  that  is  driven  along- 
side. It  saves  binding  and  shocking.  Wheat  must 
be  dry  before  it  is  cut  in  this  way,  for  the  grain  is 
either  stacked  or  threshed  at  once  without  time  for 
curing.  If  it  be  damp,  green,  or  weedy,  it  will  not 
thresh  well  and  is  liable  to  spoil  in  the  stack.  The 
header  is  .chiefly  used  in  dry  countries.  The  header 
of  to-day  cuts  a  strip  twelve  to  twenty  feet  wide. 
In  the  state  of  Washington  three  headers  and  one 
threshing  machine  usually  work  together  on  the 
mammoth  farms.  In  this  way  from  fifty  to  seventy- 
five  acres  of  wheat  are  harvested  in  one  day. 

The  Reaper.  Another  machine  has  been  worked 
out  to  harvest  the  wheat  where  the  header  is  not 
successful.  A  machine  was  developed  that  would 
cut  and  bunch  the  grain.  This  was  called  the  reaper 
(Fig.  73).  McCormick's  machine  was  first  used  in 
the  harvest  of  1831.  It  was  a  rather  crude  affair, 
drawn  by  one  horse,  but  it  was  a  good  beginning. 
It  meant  cheap  bread  for  mankind,  but  the  farmers 
at  first  refused  to  use  the  reaper.  They  laughed  at 
it;  they  said  it  would  not  work  on  hillsides.  But 
they  sat  on  the  fence  and  watched  it.  Then  they 
shook  their  heads  and  went  back  to  their  old  cradles. 
M.cCormick  talked  and  urged  the  people  to  try  it, 
but  it  was  ten  years  after  the  machine  proved  itself 


134 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


before  a  farmer  was  found  who  would  buy  one.  The 
next  year  two  reapers  were  sold,  then  fifty,  then  a 
thousand.  The  grain  was  raked  from  the  platform 
of  the  machine  by  a  man  walking  behind.  It  had  to 
be  bound  and  shocked  by  hand.  Not  long  afterwards 
larger  and  better  machines  w^ere  made.     It  took 


Fig.  73.     The  first  reaper. 

much   hard  work  to   change   the  reaper  into   the 
modern  binder  (Fig.  74). 

The  Self-binder.  The  machine  in  general  use  in 
our  country  to-day  is  the  self-binder,  which  cuts, 
binds,  and  dumps  the  bundles  in  piles  to  be  shocked 
by  hand  (Fig.  75).  On  some  of  the  large  grain 
farms  there  are  as  many  as  fifty  self-binders,  and 
these  often  cut  six  hundred  acres  of  wheat  in  one 
day.  To  make  a  device  that  would  bind  the  wheat 
was  a  hard  task.    Finally  one  was  made  that  would 


WHEAT 


135 


do  the  work,  but  it  bound  the  bundles  with  wire. 
Pieces  of  wire  found  their  way  into  the  throats  of 
.cattle,  and  farmers  would  not  buy  the  binder.  Some 
cheap  binder  twine  must  be  found.  Mr.  William 
Deering  spent  much  time  and  a  great  deal  of  money 
to  get  a  twine  that  would  knot  easily  and  firmly. 


Fig.  74.     The  modern  tindtr  dmnn   by  a  traction  engine. 


He  finally  found  that  Manila  hemp  would  act  just 
right,  and  this  made  the  binder  complete.  Our 
binder  twine  is  usually  made  of  a  mixture  of  Manila 
and  sisal  fiber.  Millions  and  millions  of  pounds  of 
])inder  twine  are  used  every  harvest. 

Combined  Harvesters.  The  most  complete  ma- 
chine of  all  is  the  combined  harvester,  which  is  used 
chiefly  on  the  bonanza  farms  on  our  Pacific  coast, 
where  there  is  nothing  to  fear  from  rainy  weather. 
This  machine  cuts,  binds,  gathers,  cleans,  and  bags 


136  ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTUEE 

the  grain  without  a  single  touch  from  human  hands. 
On  one  side  the  wheat  is  cut,  and  on  the  other  sacks 
of  wheat  are  dropped  in  piles  ready  for  the  market. 
This  machine  is  drawn  by  great  teams  of  from 
twenty-four  to  forty  horses  and  mules,  and  it  har- 


FiG.  75.     Shocks  of  golden  grain. 

vests  from  thirty  to  forty  acres  of  grain  a  day.    It 
requires  only  four  men  to  operate  it. 

Steam  Harvesters.  There  are  large  combined  har- 
vesters run  by  steam.  They  harvest  from  seventy- 
five  to  one  hundred  twenty-five  acres  a  day.  They 
are  used  only  on  very  large  farms,  from  three  thou- 
sand to  twenty  thousand  acres  each.  In  the  days 
of  the  old  Eomans  it  took  four  days  and  a  half  of 


WHEAT  137 

work  to  raise  and  harvest  each  bushel  of  wheat. 
When  the  reaper  was  invented  it  took  three  hours 
of  labor  for  each  bushel,  and  to-day  it  takes  only 
ten  minutes.  This  is  what  machinery  has  done  for 
the  farmers. 

How  Much  We  Eat.  It  is  said  that,  on  the  aver- 
age, every  person  in  the  United  States  eats  about 
five  bushels  of  wheat  in  a  year.  Five  bushels  of 
wheat  make  a  barrel  of  flour,  and  a  barrel  of  flour 
turned  over  to  the  baker  makes  about  two  hundred 
fifty  loaves  of  bread. 

Other  Uses  of  Wheat.  Most  of  the  American 
wheat  is  made  into  bread,  but  there  is  also  a  great 
amount  used  for  breakfast  foods.  Some  wheat  is 
fed  to  stock,  especially  to  poultry.  Wheat,  bran, 
and  middlings  in  great  quantities  are  bought  at  the 
mills  and  fed  to  cattle.  Macaroni  is  made  from 
wheat,  and  so  is  starch,  which  is  used  for  paste  or 
sizing.  The  straw  is  used  for  feeding  and  bedding 
cattle  and  for  making  straw  hats  and  bonnets. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  Why  do  not  all  people  eat  wheat  bread?  (2) 
How  was  wheat  first  harvested  and  threshed  in  America? 

(3)  Why  can  Europe  raise  wheat  as  cheaply  as  we  do? 

(4)  Does  corn  grow  as  far  north  as  wheat?  (5)  Give 
reason.  (6)  Why  should  fall  wheat  ground  be  plowed 
early  in  the  summer?  (7)  Name  some  of  the  enemies 
of  wheat.  (8)  Why  is  the  modern  wheat-header  suited 
only  to  dry  regions? 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments,  refer  to  the 
Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
OATS,  BARLEY,  AND  RYE 

Climate  and  Soil  for  Oats.  Oats  thrive  best  in  a 
cool,  moist  soil.  The  best  corn  regions  are  too  hot 
for  the  largest  yields.  When  oats  are  grown  in  the 
warm  regions  of  the  corn  belt  the  seed  should  be 
sown  very  early  in  the  spring  so  that  the  grain  may 
develop  in  the  cooler  weather.  The  best  oat  states 
are  too  far  north  for  a  good  corn  yield.  Oats  will 
grow  well  on  a  poorer  soil  than  com.  When  oats 
are  raised  on  land  that  is  very  rich  they  grow  too 
much  to  straw  and  too  little  to  grain  and  are  likely 
to  lodge  and  blow  flat  in  a  storm. 

Oats  or  Corn.  In  the  corn  belt  oats  are  not  so 
profitable  as  com.  The  cost  of  growing  the  two  crops 
is  about  the  same  but  oats  yield  fewer  bushels  per 
acre  and  bring  a  lower  price.  When  the  price  of 
oats  is  as  low  as  thirty-five  cents  per  bushel  there 
is  no  profit  in  the  crop.  Still  the  wise  farmer  con- 
tinues to  grow  oats  on  good  corn  land  because  it 
is  bad  practice  to  raise  corn  on  the  same  field  year 
after  year.    In  the  rotation  of  crops  oats  fit  in  well. 

Preparing  Seed.  Seed  oats  should  be  plump  and 
heavy  and  free  from  weed  seeds  and  dirt.  To  re- 
move this  extra  matter  the  oats  are  put  through  a 
fanning  mill.  In  many  places  the  crop  can  bo 
increased  one-fifth  by  carefully  choosing  the  seed. 

138 


OATS,  BARLEY,  AND  RYE  139 

The  seed  should  be  treated  in  order  to  prevent 
smut.  Some  careless  farmers  lose  nearly  half  their 
crop  on  account  of  smut.  There. are  two  treatments 
to  prevent  smut.  One  is  to  soak  the  seed  for  ten 
minutes  in  a  solution  of  one  pint  of  formaldehyde 
and  thirty-six  gallons  of  water.  Another  is  to  soak 
the  seed  for  ten  minutes  in  hot  water  at  a  tem- 
perature of  133°  Fahr.  The  last  is  called  the  hot 
water  treatment. 

Testing  Oats.  It  is  well  to  test  the  seed  oats  to 
see  if  they  will  sprout  well.  If  samples  of  the  seed 
are  put  in  a  tester  and  placed  in  a  room  with  a 
temperature  of  70 ""  to  80°  the  oats  should  sprout 
well  in  about  three  days.  Out  of  a  hundred  seeds 
ninety-five  should  sprout.  If  a  smaller  number 
sprouts  more  seed  should  be  sown  per  acre.  By 
selecting  seed  carefully  and  cleaning  and  treating 
it  every  spring  the  crop  will  grow  better  every  year. 

A  Thirsty  Crop.  Oats  need  a  great  deal  of  mois- 
ture, more,  we  are  told,  than  any  other  of  our  big 
crops.  For  every  pound  of  dry  matter  in  the  crop 
the  soil  needs  about  five  hundred  pounds  of  water. 
Where  does  all  this  moisture  go!  Some  of  it  evap- 
orates from  the  ground  and  passes  off  into  the  air, 
but  most  of  it  goes  into  the  oat  plant  carrying  food 
with  it.  The  plant  gives  off  the  moisture  it  does 
not  use  through  its  leaves.  This  passing  of  mois- 
ture   througli    the    leaves    is    called    transpiration. 

Early  Sowing.  Fields  intended  for  oats  should 
have  the  soil  stirred  as  early  in  the  spring  as  teams 


140 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


can  be  used  on  the  land.  We  know  that  a  mulch 
prevents  moisture  from  passing  off  into  the  air.  It 
is  hard  to  believe,  but  we  are  told  that  in  a  certain 
test  it  was  found  that  a  field  with  a  hard  crust  on 
the  soil  lost  thirty  tons  of  moisture  per  acre  every 
day  for  seven  days  by  evaporation. 

The  Seed  Bed.     Some  farmers  sow  oats  on  corn 
land  with  only  a  discing  but  a  much  better  crop 


Fig,  76.     A  heavy  crop  of  oats. 

will  grow  if  the  ground  is  plowed.  If  the  soil  is 
light  or  sandy  it  is  best  to  roll  it  after  seeding,  but 
it  should  not  be  rolled  when  wet.  After  rolling, 
drag  it  lightly  to"  make  a  surface  mulch. 

The  proper  depth  to  sow  the  seed  depends  upon 
the  soil  but  in  Illinois  and  Ohio  the  best  crops  are 
raised  by  covering  the  seed  with  one  inch  of  soil. 
This  is  done  by  drilling  the  seed  and  following  with 


OATS,  BARLEY,  AND  RYE  141 

a  harrow  to  make  sure  that  all  the  seed  is  covered 
and  to  leave  a  mulch  on  the  surface.     (Fig.  76.) 

Oats  in  Rotation.  Some  farmers  sow  too  much 
seed.  From  many  tests  it  is  found  that  about  ten 
'pecks  of  good  seed  to  the  acre  gives  the  best  crop. 
Oats  fit  in  nicely  in  almost  any  rotation  system.  In 
wheat  sections  of  the  West  the  crops  follow  one 
another  in  the  order  of  com,  oats,  and  wheat,  each 
one  year,  followed  by  clover  and  timothy,  two  years. 
Farmers  in  the  corn  belt  have  a  three  year  rotation 
of  com,  oats,  and  clover. 

Harvesting.  The  oat  crop  should  be  harvested 
when  the  grain  has  just  passed  from  the  *^milk 
stage '^  into  the  ** dough  stage,''  or  very  soon  after- 
ward. If  there  are  many  weeds  the  sheaves  may 
be  set  in  uncovered  shocks  so  the  sun  and  wind  can 
dry  them  out.  When  oats  are  thoroughly  dry  and 
the  weather  is  good  they  can  be  threshed  from  the 
field.  This  saves  time  and  labor  in  the  busy  season 
of  the  year.  But  if  oats  are  exposed  to  storms  while 
in  the  shock  their  color  changes  slightly.  This  does 
not  injure  the  feeding  value  but  the  farmer  will  not 
get  so  good  a  price  for  them  in  the  market. 

The  most  convenient  time  to  market  the  oat  crop 
is  at  threshing  time.  This  saves  extra  handling  of 
the  grain  and  the  trouble  of  storing  it.  But  if  the 
price  is  low  it  is  often  better  to  house  it.  Oats,  like 
all  grains,  will  lose  some  weight  in  storage.  To  get 
the  best  price  any  grain  must  be  sweet,  free  from 
weed  seeds,  and  have  a  good  color. 


142  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

Uses  of  Oats.  Oats  are  used  in  the  main  as  feed 
for  horses  for  they  are  nearly  a  balanced  ration  in 
themselves."  They  are  also  fed  in  large  quantities 
to  sheep  and  cattle.  The  Scotch  are  very  fond  of 
oatmeal  and  it  is  being  used  more  and  more  on  our' 
tables.  For  making  rolled  oats  and  oatmeal  the 
plump  and  heavy  grain  is  preferred,  but  the  hulls 
must  be  thin: 

Barley.  Barley  is  grown  in  many  parts  of  the 
world  for  its  grain  and  for  pasture.  The  grain  is  used 
as  feed  for  live  stock  and  in  making  malt  for  beer. 
Years  ago  barley  was  used  in  Europe  and  Asia  for 
bread  until  wheat  gradually  took  its  place.  Barley 
thrives  best  on  well  cultivated  land  because  its 
roots  are  shorter  than  wheat  or  oats  and  it  needs 
a  w^ell-preserved  soil.  A  rich  clay  loam  is  best 
suited  to  this  crop  for  it  will  not  grow  well  on  land 
that  is  soggy. 

Rotation  and  Seed  Bed.  A  good  rotation  for 
barley  is  com,  barley,  clover,  and  timothy.  Barley 
does  well  on  land  that  has  grown  potatoes,  beets 
or  garden  truck  the  year  before.  For  this  crop  it 
is  best  to  plow  the  land  in  the  fall,  disc  it  in  the 
spring,  and  put  it  in  good  tilth  as  early  as  possible. 
If  the  ground  is  then  full  of  lumps  and  clods  a 
roller,  or  planker,  should  be  used  to  crush  the 
lumps,  followed  by  a  fine-tooth  harrow  to  finish  the 
preparation. 

Barley  is  drilled  or  sown  with  a  broad-cast  seeder 
about  six  to  ten  pecks  per  acre.    It  is  usually  sown 


OATS,  BARLEY,  AND  RYE  143 

in  the  spring  following  the  sowing  of  wheat  but 
before  the  oats  are  put  in.  After  the  seed  is  in,  it 
is  well  to  run  a  fine-tooth  harrow  over  the  ground. 

Barley  is  an  excellent  nurse  crop  to  start  alfalfa 
or  clover  because  it  does  not  grow  very  tall  or  leafy 
and  does  not  shut  out  the  air  and  sunlight.  Barley 
does  not  require  so  much  water  as  oats  and  so  it 
leaves  more  moisture  for  the  grass. 

Enemies  of  Barley.  Some  enemies  of  barley  are 
rust,  mildew,  and  smut.  There  seems  to  be  no 
remedy  for  rust  or  mildew  but  the  smut  is  checked 
by  formaldehyde,  one  pint  in  twenty  gallons  of 
water.  This  solution  is  placed  in  a  barrel  and  sacks 
of  barley  seed  are  soaked  in  it  for  ten  minutes,  then 
emptied  and  spread  on  a  threshing  floor  to  dry 
before  sowing. 

Uses  of  Barley.  In  our  country  barley  is  used 
mainly  for  feed  for  domestic  animals  and  for  malt- 
ing. A  small  amount  is  eaten  by  man  in  the  form 
of  pearl  barley.  In  some  places  in  the  West  it  is 
grown  as  hay  and  grain  for  horses.  It  makes  good 
feed  for  poultry  and  hogs  and  feeders  are  using  it 
more  and  more  for  this  purpose.  When  used  for 
malt  the  malt-sprouts  and  brewers  grain  which  are 
left  are  used  to  feed  cows  and  to  fatten  cattle. 

Rye.  Rye  is  not  a  very  important  crop  in  Amer- 
ica. It  is  used  as  food  for  both  mankind  and  stock. 
Sometimes  the  hay  is  used  but  oftener  it  is. plowed 
under  to  enrich  the  soil.  Rye  straw  makes  good 
bedding  for  horses.     It  grows  taller  than  wheat, 


144 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


sometimes  on  very  rich  soil  it 
reaches  a  height  of  seven  feet. 
An  Old  Crop.  Rye  is  a  very 
old  grain  although  it  is  younger 
than  wheat  or  barley.  It  has  al- 
ways been  used  in  making  bread 
by  northern  peoples  but  has  been 
driven  out  of  the  warmer  coun- 
tries by  barley  and  wheat.  In 
Eussia  it  is  still  the  principal 
grain. 

Eye  will  grow  on  land  that  is 
too  light  and  thin  for  wheat  and 
barley  and  it  has  been  crowded 
out  of  regions  with  rich  soil.  It 
needs  well  drained  fields,  how- 
ever, and  in  severe  weather 
needs  to  be  protected  by  a  snow 
covering.  Eye  is  also  a  fine 
nurse  crop  to  seed  for  grass. 
Clover  will  start  better  when 
sown  with  rye  than  with  wheat. 
Rye  as  Pasture.  Grazing  cows 
on  rye  in  the  fall  will  force  a 
large  increase  in  milk.  If  the 
stock  is  kept  off  when  the  ground  is  wet  and  the 
rye  is  not  grazed  too  closely  the  crop  will  not  be 
injured.  Eye  will  furnish  green  food  earlier  in  the 
spring  than  any  other  forage  crop,  much  earlier  than 
grass. 


Fig.  77.   Rye  and  tim- 
othy attacked  by 
ergot. 


OATS,  BARLEY,  AND  RYE  145 

Rye  Enemies.  Rye  suffers  from  two  kinds  of 
rusts.  A  remedy  for  this  is  to  burn  the  stubble 
or  rotate  crops.  Rye  is  sometimes  also  attacked 
by  smut,  in  which  case  it  is  treated  the  same  as 
oats.  Another  disease  is  ergot,  which  is  a  fungus 
growth  that  attacks  the  rye  grains  causing  them 
to  become  very  large.  (Fig.  77.)  Ergot  is  a 
poison,  causing  much  trouble  when  eaten  in  bread 
by  man  or  when  fed  to  stock.  The  remedy  lies  in 
not  using  seed  that  has  ergot  in  it  and  in  not 
sowing  rye  for  two  or  three  years  on  the  infested 
fields. 

Uses  of  Rye.  A  good  yield  of  rye  is  a  ton  of 
straw  per  acre  which  produces  from  sixteen  to 
twenty  bushels  of  grain.  '  The  straw  is  worth  in 
the  East  nearly  as  much  as  the  grain.  Rye  flour 
makes  a  light  bread.  Rye  grain  is  used  to  make 
alcoholic  liquors  but  this  use  will  grow  smaller  as 
people  do  away  with  drinks  that  contain  alcohol. 

questions; 

(1)  In  what  kind  of  soil  do  oats  thrive  best  ?  (2)  Com- 
pare oat  soil  and  climate  with  that  of  corn.  (3)  How 
should  oat  seed  be  prepared  for  sowing?  (4)  How  shall 
one  save  moisture  for  the  oat  crop?  (5)  Discuss  the 
barley  crop.  (6)  How  is  barley  used?  (7)  What  can 
you  say  of  rye  as  an  American  crop?  (8)  For  what  is 
it  used?  (9)  To  what  extent  are  oats,  barley,  and  rye 
grown  in  your  locality?  (10)  How  do  you  account  for 
this? 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  HAY  CROP 

Timothy.  One  of  the  chief  hay  crops  of  America 
is  timothy.  It  is  grown  chiefly  in  the  northern  part 
of  our  country  east  of  the  Eockies.  Timothy  is  pop- 
ular with  farmers,  because  the  seed  is  cheap  and 
because  it  will  produce  a  good  hay  crop  the  first 
year  after  it  is  planted  (Fig.  78).  It  is  easy  to  kill 
it  by  plowing.  Timothy  fits  well  into  a  system  of 
rotation  with  other  crops.  It  needs  a  good  soil  and 
plenty  of  rainfall.  It  is  not  only  an  excellent  hay 
crop,  but  it  is  used  in  nearly  all  lands  intended  for 
pastures.  After  a  few  years  other  pasture  grasses 
take  its  place. 

The  Clovers.  Another  hay  crop  is  red  clover. 
This  plant,  like  so  many  others,  came  to  us  from 
Europe.  It  has  been  grown  for  many  hundred 
years.  Farmers  have  known  for  a  long  time  that 
clover  seemed  to  make  the  land  richer,  but  they  did 
not  understand  why  this  was  so.  We  now  know 
that  .clovers  and  their  kin,  such  as  alfalfa,  cowpeas, 
and  soy  beans,  enrich  the  soil  through  the  work  of 
the  bacteria  on  their  roots.  We  have  learned  that 
the  bacteria  take  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  store  it 
in  little  swellings  on  the  roots  of  th'ese  plants.  When 
the  sod  is  plowed  for  other  crops,  the  nitrogen  helps 
to  produce  much  better  yields    (Fig.  53).     These 

146 


THE  HAY  CROP 


147 


clover-like  plants  are  called  legumes.  They  are  valu- 
able because  of  the  hay  and  pasture  they  yield  and 
because  they  help  us  to  build  up  the  land  on  which 
ihey  grow,  with  plant  food.  Most  crops  leave  the 
land  poorer,  but  les'iinios  leave  it  richer,  at  least  in 
nitrogen. 

Kind  of  Soil  for  Clover.     Red  clover  requires  a 
good  soil.    Many  farms  are  too  poor  to  grow  it.    The 


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land  should  be  well  drained,  because  the  roots  will 
reacli  down  five  or  six  feet  if  the  land  is  not  swampy. 
Sometimes  a  sprinkling  of  lime  to  sweeten  the  soil 
will  help  a  clover  crop  to  thrive.  This  is  true  of 
some  sections  of  eastern  Ohio,  southern  Indiana,  and 
Illinois. 

Ready  to  Cut.  Clover  is  usually  sown  in  the 
spring  on  the  winter  wheat  crop.  It  lives  about  two 
years.    G'lover  grows  two  crops  a  year.    The  second 


148 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


crop  is  often  cut  for  seed.    In  order  to  obtain  the 
best  hay,  clover  should  be  harvested  just  after  it  has 


Fig.  79.     A  hand  dump  rake. 

come  to  full  bloom.     Hay  cut  later  is  not  so  good. 

Careful  Handling.  In  harvesting  the  clover  crop, 
it  should  reach  the  barn  or  stack  with  the  least 
handling  and  exposure.'  If  it  is  allowed  to  become 
too  dry  in  handling,  the  leaves  will  crumble  and 
fall  off,  and  they  are  the  best  part  of  the  hay. 

Curing  Clover  Hay.  Clover  hay  should  be  well 
cured  in  the  sun,  or  it  will  heat  and  spoil  in  the 
stack  or  mow.  Some  farmers  cut  it  in  the  afternoon, 
and  after  the  dew  is  off  the  next  morning  it  is 
tedded,  raked,  and  put  in  the  cock  before  night 
(Figs.  79,  80,  81,  and  82). 

Uses  of  Clover.  Eed  clover  is  used  for  hay  and 
for  pasture.  It  is  often  used  as  a  green-manure  crop 
to  be  plowed  under  if  the  ground  is  poor  in  humus. 
Even  where  it  is  cut  for  hay,  the  stubble  knd  roots 


THE  HAY  CROP 


149 


turned  with  the  plow  show  gains  in  the  crops  that 
follow,  because  of  the  extra  amount  of  nitrogen  left 
behind.  Clover  makes  an  ideal  hay  for  cattle,  and 
where  it  is  raised,  it  should  make  up  a  half  or  more 
of  the  roughage  of  milch  cows.  Sheep  and  young 
stock  make  excellent  growth  on  clover  hay  or  the 
clover  pasture. 

Getting  a  Stand.  Where  the  soil  has  been  worn 
out  by  many  crops  being  taken  off  and  no  plant  food 
or  humus  put  back,  red  clover  will  not  often  grow. 
In  order  to  bring  such  land  up,  a  heavy  coat  of  barn- 
yard manure  will  help  to  give  clover  a  start.  Another 
way  to  get  a  set  of  red  clover  on  poor  land  is  to 


Fig.  80,    A  self -dump  hay  rake. 

spread  straw  over  the  wheat  or  rye  ground  that 
has  been  seeded  to  clover.  This  is  done  in  early 
spring,  before  the  clover  seed  has  begun  to  sprout. 


160 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


Alsike  Clover.  Still  another  way  to  get  one's 
poor  fields  seeded  to  red  clover  is  to  first  sow  Alsike 
clover.  This  will  grow  on  soils  that  are  too  wet  or 
too  dry  or  too  poor  for  red  clover.  Alsike  is  hardier 
and  less  likely  to  be  attacked  by  disease. 

Alfalfa.  Another  clover-like  plant  that  is  coming 
to  be  even  more  important  than  clover  is  alfalfa 


Fig.    81.     Hay    loader. 

(Fig.  83).  It  was  brought  to  America  in  the  early 
days  by  the  Spaniards,  but  only  in  recent  years  has 
it  become  a  widely  grown  crop  in  the  United  States. 
Like  clover,  it  is  a  legume  whose  roots  are  homes 
for  bacteria.  Thus  it  both  brings  the  farmer  fine 
hay  and  pasture,  and  it  enriches  his  fields  at  the 
same  time.  Alfalfa  has  for  years  been  a  leading 
crop  in  the  West.  It  is  now  being  introduced  widely 
in  the  great  Corn  Belt. 


It  is  a  fine  feed  for  milch 


THE  HAY  CROP 


,151 


COWS  and  for  fattening  hogs,  lambs,  and  .cattle. 
The  Soil  and  Crops.  Alfalfa  has  a  long  tap-root 
which  reaches  down  deeper  than  any  other  farm 
crop,  often  being  twelve  feet  long  (Pig.  84).  Thus, 
you  see,  alfalfa  needs  a  well-drained  soil.  It  thrives 
wonderfully  in  dry  regions.  It  continues  to  grow 
throughout  the  warm  season.     In  Canada  they  cut 


Fig.  82.     Horse  power  is  cheaper  than  human  labor. 

three  crops  of  it  in  one  season,  while  in  Arizona 
eight  cuttings  are  often  harvested. 

How  to  Start  Alfalfa.  Alfalfa  is  not  a  successful 
crop  on  poor  land.  If  the  land  is  not  rich  enough,  a 
heavy  coat  of  manure  may  be  necessary.  In  many 
])laces  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  lime  is  needed  to 
give  alfalfa  a  start.  About  twenty-five  pounds  of 
seed  are  sown  to  the  acre  in  the  East,  but  much  less 
is  used  in  the  West.  It  is  best  to  sow  alfalfa  in  the 
late  summer  or  early  fall.    It  is  sometimes  seeded 


152 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


with  grain  in  the  spring.  The  field  should  be  mellow 
and  fine  as  a  seed  bed,  for  alfalfa  is  not  a  strong 
plant  until  it  gets  a  good  start.  Weeds  will  injure 
it,  so  it  is  well  to  sow  seed  that  is  free  from  weed 
seeds.  Alfalfa  may  be  grown  on  the  same  field  for 
a  longer  time  without  change  than  most  crops,  but 
it  should  be  plowed  in  at  intervals  of  from  five  to 
seven  years  and  some  other  crop  sown. 

Good  for  Horses.  There  is  no  one  thing  so  good 
as  alfalfa  for  the  working  horse.  It  builds  up  his 
worn-out  muscles  and  keeps  him  strong  and  healthy. 
He  needs  much  less  grain  when  he  can  have  alfalfa 
hay.    It  ought  to  be  free  from  dust,  but  it  does  not 


Courtesy  of  Santa  Fe  R.  R. 

Fig.  83.    A  field  of  alfalfa — six  crops  to  the  season. 

gather  dust  so  easily  as  .clover.    It  is  not  safe  to 
feed  too  much  to  horses. 

Alfalfa  for  Other  Stock.     Milch  cows  thrive  on 
alfalfa,  and   nothing  better   is   grown   for   calves, 


THE  HAY  CEOP 


153 


sheep,  and  hogs.     Alfalfa  and  corn  fed  together 

make  a  finely  balanced  food  for  stock,  because  the 

food  element  that  is  lacking  in 

corn  is  found  in  alfalfa;    and 

what    alfalfa    lacks,    corn    will 

supply.   Not  only  is  alfalfa  the 

best  forage  food  for  stock,  but  it 

will  do  more  even  than  clover  to 

build  up  the  soil.    Its  roots  go 

down  very   deep,   and   thus  it 

gets  food  where  no  other  farm 

crop  can. 

The  Cowpea.  The  cowpea  is 
another  legume  and  is  a  cousin 
to  the  clover  and  alfalfa.  It  has 
come  to  be  an  important  hay 
crop  in  our  Southern  states,  for 
it  likes  warm  climates.  It  will 
grow  on  almost  any  kind  of  soil 
that  is  not  too  wet.  Like  clover, 
the  cowpea  will  make  good  hay 
or  green  feed,  and  it  enriches 
the  soil. 

The  cowpea  is  an  annual  plant 
and  resembles  the  bean.  Some 
varieties  are  bush-like  while 
others  are  trailing.  As  it  is  difficult  to  cure  without 
losing  the  leaves,  it  is  sometimes  grown  with  German 
millet  to  help  save  the  leaves  and  to  assist  in  speedy 
curing. 


Courtesy  Santa  Fe  R.  R. 

Fig.  84.  Alfalfa  plant 
showing  long  tap- 
root. 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 
SUGARS  AND  OTHER  CROPS 

Where  We  Get  Our  Sweets.  Each  person  in  the 
United  States  eats,  on  an  average,  more  than  sev- 
enty pounds  of  sugar  in  a  year.  Sugar  is  made  from 
the. sugar  cane,  the  sugar  beet,  and  the  sap  of  maple 
trees. 

Sugar  Cane.  Sugar  cane  may  be  grown  in  the 
Southern  states  wherever  cotton  is  found.  It  very 
much  resembles  corn  in  appearance.  Cultivated 
cane  never  produces  seed,  so  the  new  crop  must  be 
grown  from  cuttings  of  the  stalk.  It  takes  a  ninth 
part  of  the  old  crop  to  plant  the  field  for  a  new  one. 
The  seed  cane  is  usually  stored  on  the  land  in  the 
fall  and  covered  with  a  layer  of  leaves  and  a  thin 
layer  of  earth  to  protect  it  from  the  frost.  In  the 
spring  it  is  uncovered  or  ^^ hooked  up''  with  long 
hoes  and  cut  into  pieces  two  feet  long. 

Planting.  The  land  is  plowed  and  thrown  into 
ridges  eight  feet  apart,  and  the  seed  stalks  are  laid 
end  to  end  in  double  rows  in  a  trench  on  top  of 
the  ridges.  An  extra  piece  of  cane  is  put  near  each 
joint  so  the  sprouts  will  be  regular.  Cane  should 
send  up  a  sprout  at  every  joint.  Covering  is  done 
with  a  hoe  or  a  machine.  A  machine  covers  ten 
acres  in  a  day.  The  first  crop  is  known  as  plant 
,cane.    The  next  year  it  will  spring  up  from  the  same 

154 


SUGAES  AND  OTHER  CROPS  155 

roots,  or  it  may  be  planted  again.  A  good  crop 
will  come  from  the  stubble  even  the  third  year.  The 
land  is  then  plowed  and  sowed  to  cowpeas.  The 
fourth  year  a  new  crop  of  cane  may  be  raised  on 
the  land  where  the  cowpeas  have  been  plowed  under. 
Cane  sometimes  grows  fifteen  feet  high. 

Harvesting.  Harvesting  begins  in  October.  The 
sugar  forms  most  rapidly  then,  but  the  crop  must 
be  cut  before  the  frosts  injure  it.  Colored  workmen 
using  a  long  knife  go  through  the  fields  cutting  the 
stalks  very  close  to  the  ground,  for  the  lower  ends 
yield  the  most  sugar.  The  leaves  and  tops  are 
trimmed  off,  and  the  stalks  are  laid  in  piles.  At 
the  factory  the  stalks  are  cut  and  shredded  into 
small  pieces,  and  the  juice  is  crushed  out  between 
heavy  rollers.  This  juice  is  put  into  large  tanks 
Avitli  milk  of  lime  to  be  made  clear.  Then  it  is  made 
into  syrup,  and  the  molasses  is  separated  from  the 
sugar,  which  is  then  dried  into  large  crystals  and 
relined  into  our  white  sugar. 

Sugar  Beet.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  by  taste 
whether  the  refined  sugar  is  made  from  cane  or 
from  sugar  beets,  but  the  raw  beet  sugar  has  a  dis- 
agreeable odor  and  taste.  Beet  sugar  was  not  dis- 
covered by  accident.  It  was  made  after  years  of 
experimenting.  More  than  two  hundred  years  ago 
a  German  druggist  first  found  sugar  in  beets,  and 
sugar  being  at  that  time  a  dollar  a  pound.  Napoleon 
offered  a  prize  to  any  one  who  could  make  sugar 
from  beets.    The  art  was  soon  discovered,  but  it  is 


156  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

only  within  a  short  time  that  beet  sugar  has  been 
made  in  the  United  States.  The  soil  and  climate  of 
the  greater  part  of  our  country  will  raise  the  sugar 
beet.    The  labor  required  to  produce  beets  is  much 


Courtesy  of  Santa  Fe  R.  R. 

Fig.  85.    A  field  of  sugar  leets. 

more  than  that  required  for  an  equal  crop  of  corn, 
wheat,  or  potatoes;  but  the  income  is  much  greater. 
Preparation  and  Soil.  The  land  for  sugar  beets 
must  be  a  rich,  deep  soil.  Plenty  of  moisture  is 
needed  while  the  plants  are  growing,  and  dry,  warm 
weather  when  ripening.  If  sugar  beets  are  to  follow 
a  grain  crop,  the  land  should  be  plowed  lightly  as 
soon  as  the  grain  is  harvested.  The  ground  is  then 
dressed  with  a  coat  of  manure,  and  later  in  the 
season  it  is  plowed  deep.  The  sub  soiling  plow  that 
loosens  the  earth  to  a  depth  from  fourteen  to 
eighteen  inches,  enables  beets  to  reach  down  into  the 


SUGAES  AND  OTHER  CROPS  157 

soil  where  they  will  receive  plenty  of  moisture  at  all 
seasons.  Before  planting,  the  ground  is  dragged 
or  harrowed  and  rolled  to  pack  it  firmly.  The  beets 
are  planted  with  machines.  Horse-power  machines 
plant  four  rows  at  a  time.  Since  the  sugar  beet 
needs  about  four  or  five  months'  time  to  grow  to 
the  full  size,  it  should  be  planted  two  or  three  weeks 
before  corn.    (Fig.  85). 

Harvesting.  In  October  the  farmer  takes  a  few 
beets  to  the  factory  to  be  tested  for  the  amount  and 
quality  of  juice.  As  beets  increase  in  weight  rap- 
idly the  last  six  weeks,  it  is  well  to  delay  harvesting 
as  long  as  is  safe  to  avoid  danger  from  frost.  The 
beets  may  be  plowed  loose  eight  or  ten  days  before 
removing  from  the  ground.  They  are  then  pulled 
by  hand  and  the  top  cut  off  close  to  the  root  to 
remove  the  matter  that  prevents  the  separating  of 
the  sugar  from  the  juice.  The  beets  are  then  sent 
to  the  factory.  Europe  produces  larger  crops  of 
sugar  beets  than  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

Rice.  Kice  furnishes  the  principal  food  of  half 
the  human  race.  It  first  came  from  the  East  Indies, 
but  is  now  raised  in  many  parts  of  the  earth.  It 
was  probably  brought  to  America  when  the  Caro- 
linas  were  settled,  and  it  is  now  the  staple  product 
of  South  Carolina.  There  are  two  kinds  of  rice,  the 
upland  rice  and  the  lowland  rice.  Lowlgfnd  rice  was 
first  grown  in  places  that  were  overflowed  by  the 
tides,  but  irrigation  is  now  used  to  raise  this  variety 
in  most  of  the  Southern  states.    Upland  rice  does 


158 


ELEM  jNTAEY  AGEICULTUKE 


not  need  to  be  flooded,  but  is  cultivated  much  as 
oats  or  wheat. 

Growing  Rice.  The  ground  is  prepared  for  rice 
and  the  seed  is  planted,  harvested,  and  threshed 
very  much  the  same  as  wheat.    "Where  the  rice  crop 


Courtesy  of  the  Alabama  Tobacco 
Fig.  86.    A  heavy  crop  cf  tohacco  and  drying  ham. 

is  flooded  with  water,  the  ground  is  allowed  to  dry 
out  at  harvest  time.  The  upland  rice  is  thought  by 
some  planters  to  be  better  than  the  lowland  variety, 
but  the  yield  is  not  so  great. 

Rice  Products  and  Enemies.  From  the  thresher, 
the  rice  is  sent  to  the  mill  in  barrels.  A  little  more 
than  half  of  it  comes  out  clean  rice,  a  small  part  is 
polish,  and  about  a  third  is  bran  and  waste.    The 


SUGARS  AND  OTHER  CROPS 


159 


rice  polisli  and  bran  are  mixed  and  sold  to  feed  pigs. 
The  rice-stalk  borer,  the  chinch  bug,  and  the  ''black 
weevil''  are  all  enemies  of  the  rice  crop. 

Tobacco.     The  United  States  produces  more  to- 
bacco than  any  other  country  in  the  world  and  sends 


p 

"^^r«iUH 

IP 

^,V^RI^H 

Courtesy  of  the  Alabama  Tobacco  Company 
Fig.  87.    Drying  and  curing  tobacco  in  a  uell-ventilatcd  harn. 

more  than  one-third  of  it  to  other  lands.  The  vari- 
ety of  tobacco  raised  depends  upon  the  soil,  climate, 
and  the  use  it  is  to  be  put  to.     (Fig.  86.) 

Wet  soils  of  .clay  produce  large,  heavy  plants  that 
cure  to  a  dark  brown  or  red.  Light,  sandy  soils 
raise  a  thin  leaf  curing  to  a  bright  red,  mahogany, 
or  yellow  color.  The  quality  of  tobacco  is  affected 
by  the  soil,  kind  of  manure  used,  and  the  climate, 


160  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 

more  than  almost  any  other  plant.  In  the  northern 
regions  the  seed  is  sown  in  a  hotbed  protected  by 
cheesecloth.  The  young  plants  are  tender  and  need 
watering  with  a  weak  manure  water.  They  should 
be  transplanted  when  five  or  six  weeks  old.  They 
may  be  well  cultivated  until  the  plant  begins  to 
bud;  then,  if  no  seed  is  desired,  the  plants  are  topped 
so  the  strength  may  all  go  to  the  leaves. 

Fertilizer.  Barnyard  manure  produces  a  rank 
growth  of  tobacco,  but  it  is  poor  in  quality.  Potash 
is  the  most  important  plant  food  for  tobacco.  Nitro- 
gen is  supplied  in  cotton-seed  meal. 

Curing.  When  the  leaves  begin  to  turn  yellow, 
the  stalks  are  cut  close  to  the  ground.  They  should 
be  wilted  by  cutting  them  when  the  sun  shines  the 
hottest.  The  plants  are  then  hung  up  in  the  drying 
house  without  being  crowded  together.  (Fig.  87.) 
After  drying,  the  leaves  are  removed  and  tied  up 
in  bundles  called  hands.  The  tobacco  leaf  loses  more 
than  three-fourths  of  its  weight  in  curing.  Tobacco 
is  made  into  cigars,  cigarettes,  cheroots,  and  snuff. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  Before  the  discovery  of  sugar  cane,  how  did  people 
get  their  sweets?  (2)  From  how  many  plants  do  we 
get  sugar  now?  (3)  What  do  you  know  about  maple 
sugar?  (4)  In  what  way  is  the  raising  of  sugar  beets 
more  trouble  than  corn?  (5)  Compare  the  raising  of 
wheat  and  rice  from  planting  to  harvest.  (6)  Why 
should  not  tobacco  plants  touch  each  other  in  the  dry  house  ? 

For  exercises,  problems,  experiments,  see  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
THE  FIELD  OR  IRISH  POTATO 

The  Potato's  Early  Home.  The  early  home  of  the 
potato  was  in  America.  White  men  had  never  seen 
it  until  after  the  discovery  of  the  continent  by 
Columbus.  The  Indians  of  South  America,  from 
Chili  to  Colombia,  were  raising  potatoes  for  food. 
How  long  they  had  been  doing  this  we  do  not  know. 
The  Spanish  explorers  carried  the  potato  to  Europe^ 
where  it  was  first  grown  in  Spain  and  Italy. 

The  Potato  in  Ireland.  Some  years  later,  we  are 
told.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  cultivating  it  on  his 
farm  in  Ireland.  He  called  it  **Battata.''  The 
potato  came  to  be  raised  as  the  principal  article  of 
food  in  Ireland;  and  when,  in  1846,  there  came  a 
total  failure  of  the  potato  crop,  caused  by  the  blight, 
a  terrible  famine  and  great  suffering  followed.  It 
drove  thousands  of  Ireland's  best  thinkers  and 
workers  to  America. 

A  Widely-grown  Crop.  Potatoes  are  a  more  im- 
portant crop  in  Europe  than  in  America,  and  it  is  a 
staple  product  in  many  lands  besides  our  own.  Next 
to  rice,  it  is  probably  the  most  widely-grown  crop 
in  the  world. 

Not  a  Root,  But  a  Tuber.  The  part  of  the  potato 
that  we  eat  is  an  underground  stem  which  is  called 
a  tuber.    It  is  not  a  root,  like  the  sweet  potato  or 

161 


162 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


radish,  for  there  are  no  rootlets  growing  upon  the 
white  potato.  All  the  roots  are  found  extending 
out  from  the  stems. 


1.     Early    Ohio. 


2.     Early   Rose. 


Triumph.  6.     Peerless. 

Courtesy  of  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Wisconsin 

Fig.  88.    Standard  varieties  of  potatoes.   Early  varieties,  1,  2,  and  3. 
Late  varieties,  4,  5,  and  6. 

The  Kinds  of  Seed.    The  potato  can  be  raised  both 
from  the  seeds  which  grow  in  the  seed  ball  at  the 


THE  FIELD  OR  IRISH  POTATO  163 

end  of  the  stalk  and  from  the  tubers.  The  farmer 
always  plants  tubers,  because  they  produce  other 
tubers  just  like  themselves.  The  potatoes  grown 
from  the  seed  do  not  always  come  true  to  the 
variety. 

The  Potato  Eye.  Each  eye  of  the  potato  will  grow 
a  new  plant  if  a  piece  of  potato  is  left  on  it  large 
enough  to  feed  the  young  plant  until  it  can  put  out 
strong  roots.  When  potatoes  are  allowed  to  sprout 
in  the  cellar  they  use  up  some  of  their  plant  food  so 
they  shrivel.  These  potatoes  should  not  be  used 
for  planting. 

Cutting  the  Seed.  Irish  jiotatoes  are  usually  cut 
into  two  or  more  pieces  for  planting.  Some  careful 
farmers  cut  two  eyes  to  each  piece;  others  claim  it 
pays  to  use  more  seed  and  take  a  half  potato  for 
each  hill.  The  seed  is  best  cut  a  short  time  before 
it  is  put  into  the  ground.  One  experiment  station 
found  an  increase  of  fifty-four  bushels  per  acre  by 
placing  the  potatoes  in  a  well-lighted  room  with  a 
comfortable  temperature  for  several  weeks  before 
planting. 

How  to  Choose  Seed  Potatoes.  Our  plants  grow 
from  the  bud  in  the  eye  of  the  pjotato,  and  so  we 
should  know  just  what  kind  of  a  plant  the  seed 
l)otato  grew  on.  We  must  see  to  it  that  we  choose 
seed  taken  from  vines  that  are  good  producers. 
Some  vines  have  twice  as  many  potatoes  as  others. 
Therefore,  we  select  our  seed  potatoes,  as  we  do 
corn,  not  from  the  bin,  but  from  the  potato  field,  as 


164  ELEMENT AEY  AGRICULTUEE 

they  are  dug.    It  matters  not  if  the  seed  potato  be 
large  or  small  if  it  came  from  a  hill  bearing  a  large 


Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

Fig.  89.     Colorado  potato  beetle  at  work  on  the  plant:  a,  beetle;  b, 
egg  masses;  c,  half-grown  larvae;  d,  mature  larvae. 

yield  of  fine  potatoes.     By  careful  selection,  year 
after  year,  a  farmer  can  greatly  improve  his  variety 


THE  FIELD  OR  IRISH  POTATO  165 

and  produce  larger  crops  on  the  same  space  of 
ground  (Fig.  88). 

Climate  and  Soil.  For  the  best  crop  one  needs  a 
deep,  fertile  soil  with  plenty  of  moisture,  but  not  too 
wet.  A  cool  .climate  is  most  suitable.  The  seed-eyes 
are  planted  from  two  to  five  inches  deep,  and  the 
most  successful  growers  do  not  hill  up  the  plants 
until  late  in  the  season.  Moisture  is  held  better  if 
the  ground  is  kept  level. 

Cultivating  the  Crop.  A  few  days  after  planting 
a  harrow  or  weeder  is  run  over  the  field  to  destroy 
all  weeds  as  soon  as  they  are  started.  This  weeder 
is  used  once  a  week  until  the  plants  are  six  or  eight 
inches  high.  Then  the  fields  are  cultivated  between 
the  rows  about  every  ten  days. 

Insect  Enemies.  One  of  the  first  enemies  the  plant 
meets  after  it  appears  through  the  surface  is  the 
flea  beetle  that  gnaws  small  holes  in  the  leaves. 
They  may  be  checked  by  spraying  with  the  Bor- 
deaux mixture  or  with  Paris  green.  This  remedy 
will  also  stop  the  ravages  of  the  potato  beetle,  or 
Colorado  bug  (Fig.  89).  Potatoes  are  commonly 
sprayed  about  five  times,  beginning  when  the  plants 
are  about  six  inches  high  and  repeating  the  opera- 
tion every  ten  days. 

The  Potato  Scab.  Another,  enemy  of  the  potato 
is  the  scab,  which  is  a  very  tiny  plant  growing  on 
the  surface  of  the  tuber.  Scabby  potatoes  do  not 
bring  good  prices.  If  seed  potatoes  are  given  a 
bath  in  a  solution  of  formalin  for  about  two  hours 


166 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


before  they  are  planted,  the  formalin  will  kill  the 
scab  growth  without  injuring  the  potatoes.  One- 
half  pint  of  formalin  to  fifteen  gallons  of  water 
makes  a  proper  solution,  which  will  do  for  several 
bushels  of  potatoes,  as  it  can  be  used  over  and  over 


The  Blight.  Another  disease  for  the  potato  farmer 
to  guard  against  is  the  blight.    This  is  a  tiny  plant 


'^^ 

¥J^A 

...„;. 

^^^^H^j|  / 1 1  Wtjk 

1 

•SW  !>• 

-'•'=■■  ■  --'  ■■■^-i- 

(i. 

m 

: 

!^^V 

""^fS^S 

^0& 

^^Mm 

^E--- 

'7t^^ 

-irJ  v'J^  ^^'     jHH^^i 

M... 

u 

Courtesy  of  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Wisconsin 
Fig.  90.     A  -field  of  potatoes  yielding  35.0  bushels  per  acre. 

or  fungus  growth  which  attacks  the  plant  above 
ground.  The  blight  sometimes  destroys  a  crop  com- 
pletely. Spraying  is  the  remedy  for  this  enemy, 
also. 

Harvesting.  Early  varieties  of  the  potato  are  dug 
as  soon  as  they  are  big  enough  for  market.  Late 
potatoes  are  left  in  the  ground  until  the  vines  are 


THE  FIELD  OR  IRISH  POTATO  167 

dead.  They  should  be  gathered  when  the  ground 
is  dry  and  placed  in  a  dark,  cool  place.  Potatoes 
stored  in  the  cellar  should  always  be  covered  to 
keep  the  light  from  burning  them.  In  some  regions 
farmers  raise  from  three  hupdred  to  five  hundred 
bushels  per  acre  (Fig.  90). 

The  Sweet  Potato.  This  potato  is  not  related  to 
the  white  potato.  It  is  not  a  tuber  but  an  enlarged 
root.  Instead  of  eyes  it  has  many  tiny  rootlets  on 
it.  The  sweet  potato  was  found  in  the  warm  regions 
of  America.  It  thrives  in  our  Southern  states,  but 
is  grown  in  truck  patches  in  our  Central  states.  A 
light,  sandy  loam  yields  the  best  selling  sweet 
potato. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)     How  did  white  potatoes  get  the  name  "Irish*'? 

(2)  What  is  the  difference  between  a  root  and  a  tuber? 

(3)  Why  do  potatoes  that  have  sprouted  in  the  cellar 
make  poor  seed?  (4)  Why  not  choose  seed  potatoes 
from  the  bin?  (5)  Many  growers  do  not  hill  up  the 
rows  until  late.  Why?  (6)  Why  cannot  a  farmer  af- 
ford the  necessary  potato  machinery  unless  he  raises 
good-sized  potato  crops?  (7)  Make  questions  of  your 
own  for  class  use. 

For  exercises,  problems  and  experiments,  refer  to  the 
Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XX 
WEEDS 

Weeds  Good  Fighters.  Weeds  are  plants  that 
grow  where  they  are  not  wanted.  Their  seeds, 
allowed  to  grow  in  the  crops,  take  the  lion's  share 
of  plant  food,  moisture,  and  light.  Thus  weeds  rob 
and  choke  out  the  farmer's  crop. 

Annuals.  In  order  to  fight  weeds,  the  farmer 
must  know  how  they  grow  and  how  they  send  forth 
their  weed  children.  There  are  three  classes  of 
weeds.  Many  come  up  from  seeds,  blossom,  ripen 
their  seeds,  and  die  in  one  year.  Some  of  these 
annuals  are  wild  mustard,  ragweed  and  purslane. 

Biennial  Weeds.  These  plants  live  two  years. 
The  first  year  they  come  up  from  the  seed,  grow, 
and  store  up  food  in  their  roots,  but  bear  no  seed. 
When  winter  comes  all  the  plant  above  ground  dies. 
The  next  year  it  sends  up  branches  again,  produces 
seed,  and  dies,  root  and  all.  Some  of  the  trouble- 
some biennials  are  dandelion,  barn  grass,  wild 
parsnip,  bull  thistle,  and  burdock.     (Fig.  92.) 

Perennials.  Plants  of  this  class  live  from  year 
to  year.  They  grow  sometimes  from  seeds  but  also 
from  underground  stems  or  from  runners  above 
ground.  Among  them  are  the  Canada  thistle  (Fig. 
91),  quack  grass,  cow  thistle,  yellow  dock,  milk- 
weed, morning  glory,  and  wild  onion. 

168 


WEEDS 


169 


Fighting  the 
Weeds.  If  a  weed 
is  an  annual,  then 
the  problem  is  to 
prevent  the  seed 
from  ripening  or 
spreading.  The 
seeds  of  some  of 
these  weeds  will 
grow  after  several 
years,  so  if  the 
farmer  allows  them 
to  become  abun- 
dant in  his  fields 
some  of  the  seeds 
will  grow  each 
year  and  each  year 
he  must  fight  them. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to 
harrow  well  just 
before  planting  a 
crop.     This     kills 

the  sprouting  weeds  and  gives  corn  or  other  crops 
a  chance  to  get  ahead.  Weeds  are  easiest  to  kill 
when  they  are  just  starting  to  grow. 

Wlien  weeds  get  a  start  in  a  pasture  field  a  flock 
of  sheep  will  soon  kill  them  by  eating  off  the  leaves. 
Sheep  w^ll  eat  most  all  kinds  of  weeds.  When 
weeds  get  a  start  in  an  alfalfa  field  they  may  be 
checked  by  the  use  of  the  spring-tooth  harrow  or 


Fig.  91.     Canada  thistle. 


170 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


Fig.  1)2.     Burdock 


tlie  disc.  But 
when  hay  fields 
get  too  full  of 
weeds  the  best 
way  to  fight 
them  is  to  ro- 
tate the  crop, 
and  plant 
corn,  potatoes. 


rape 


cab 


bages  or  beets. 
As  these  crops 
require  care- 
ful cultivation 
one  can  kill 
the  weeds  and 
at  ^the  same 
time  help 
along  a  pay- 
ing crop. 

Many  weeds 
mature  on 
corn  or  potato  land  or  in  stubble  fields  in  the  fall 
after  the  crop  has  been  taken  off.  This  may  be 
prevented  by  following  with  a  crop  of  winter  oats, 
rye,  or  crimson  clover. 

Biennials  such  as  burdock,  wild  carrot,  and  bull 
thistle  store  up  food  in  their  roots  the  first  year. 
These  are  much  harder  to  kill,  but  may  be  destroyed 
by  cutting  the  roots  off  below  the  crown.     This  is 


WEEDS  171 

done  by  hand  with  a  grub  hoe.  Biennials  may 
be  killed  by  planting  a  crop  that  has  to  be  hoed. 

Perennials,  like  the  Canada  thistle  and  morning 
glory,  may  be  killed  by  pulling  them  up  by  the 
roots  or  by  keeping  all  leaves  cut  off,  so  they  can- 
not breathe.  They  may  also  be  destroyed  by  plow- 
ing in  the  fall  so  as  to  expose  their  roots,  or  by 
sow^ing  a  crop  which  will  cover  the  ground  very 
thickly  and  smother  out  the  weeds. 

Weeds  for  Drugs.  Many  of  the  troublesome 
weeds  on  our  farms  might  be  sold  for  making  crude 
drugs  and  medicines.  Some  drug  companies  in  our 
country  are  beginning  to  plant  burdock  (Fig.  92), 
hoarhound,  jimsonweed  and  foxglove  to  be  used  in 
making  medicines  and  drugs.  In  Europe  many 
farmers  cure  the  weeds  and  sell  them  to  dealers 
for  this  purpose.  They  dry  thoroughly  the  leaves, 
roots,  bark  or  seed.  If  this  is  not  done  they  will 
mold.  Many  of  the  roots  have  to  be  washed  and 
carefully  dried.  Boys  on  the  farm  might  do  this. 
The  United  States  government  has  a  pamphlet 
describing  the  different  plants  and  the  method  of 
])reparing  them  for  market.  Write  also  to  the 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  your  state  for 
bulletins  on  weeds. 

(1)  What  are  weeds?  (2)  Why  are  they  injurious  to 
crops?  (3)  What  are  annuals,  biennials,  and  perennial 
weeds?  (4)  Give  some  good  methods  of  fighting  weeds. 
(5)     Tell  about  weeds  for  drugs. 


CHAPTER  XXL 
OECHAEDS 

Helping  One  Another.  Fruit  trees  of  some  kind 
will  thrive  in  any  section  of  our  country,  so  every 
farm  should  have  its  own  fruit.  Some  farmers 
make  fruit-raising  their  chief  business,  while  others 
have  only  a  small  orchard  for  family  use.  If  the 
raising  of  fruit  is  the  principal  object  of  the  farmer, 
he  should  locate  where  many  other  farmers  are  do- 
ing the  same  thing,  so  that  they  may  form  companies 
to  help  one  another  in  many  ways,  especially  in 
obtaining  good  prices  for  their  .crops. 

Keep  Near  Market  or  Railroad.  It  is  well  not  to 
go  too  far  from  the  railroad  to  raise  fruit.  When 
peaches  are  to  be  handled,  they  should  not  be  hauled 
more  than  three  miles.  Strawberries  must  also  be 
marketed  soon  after  they  are  picked  and  with  as 
little  cartage  as  possible.  Apples  are  more  firm  and 
will  endure  more  handling,  but  the  expense  of  a  long 
haul  reduces  the  profits. 

Hill  Lands  for  Orchards.  It  is  usually  better  for 
orchards  to  be  upon  land  higher  than  the  rest  of  the 
farm.  The  cold  air  is  heavier  and  settles  into  the 
valleys  and  lowlands,  so  the  hill  orchards  are  not 
so  likely  to  be  caught  by  late  spring  frosts. 

The  Best  Slope.  The  north  and  east  slopes  of 
hills  are  preferred  for  apple  orchards,  because  they 

172 


OECHAEDS  173 

are  slower  in  warming  up  in  the  spring.  This  keeps 
the  blossoms  from  coming  out  too  soon  and  being 
injured  by  late  frosts.  Trees  set  on  southern  slopes 
receive  more  sunshine,  and  their  fruit  is  more  highly 
colored.  But  southern  slopes  are  usually  drier  than 
northern  slopes,  and  thus  the  fruit  does  not  grow  so 
large. 

The  Influence  of  Water.  Land  sloping  toward  a 
river  or  a  large  body  of  water  is  good  fruit  land, 
because  the  water  keeps  the  air  from  too  sudden 
changes.  The  fruit  should  be  on  the  slope  that  re- 
ceives the  wind  after  it  has  crossed  the  water.  Air 
near  water  is  kept  from  getting  suddenly  colder 
and  there  is  less  likelihood  of  frosts.     (Fig.  93.) 

Kinds  of  Soil  for  Fruits.  For  apple,  pear,  and 
plum  trees  a  farmer  should  choose  a  deep,  moist, 
clay  loam.  A  sandy  loam  is  better  for  peaches  and 
cherries. 

Preparation  of  Fruit  Land.  The  soil  should  be 
prepared  as  carefully  for  a  fruit  orchard  as  for  corn. 
It  is  plowed  deep  for  planting  the  trees,  so  the  roots 
may  reach  out  far  and  wide  for  food.  The  surface 
should  be  harrowed  to  a  dust  mulch.  If  the  field 
is  wet  and  swampy,  it  must  be  drained. 

Planting  Trees.  The  trees  may  be  planted  either 
in  the  spring  or  fall.  If  the  soil  is  in  good  shape, 
fall  planting  is  better,  because  the  trees  get  a  start 
before  winter.  To  make  tillage  easy  the  rows  should 
be  straight.  Apple  trees  are  commonly  planted  forty 
feet  apart  each  way,  but  sometimes  they  are  planted 


174 


ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTUEE 


closer.  .  Pears  are  set  about  twenty-five  feet  apart 
and  peaches  and  plums  each  twenty  feet.  There 
should  always  be  room  enough  between  the  trees  so 

spraying  may 
be  easily  done 
and  the  crop 
harvested  con- 
veniently. 
Setting  Trees. 
When  a  tree 
is  taken  from 
the  ground 
the  more  roots 
that  are  saved 
the  better.  But 
with  the  best 
of  care  many 
of  them  are  broken  or  bruised,  and  others  must  be 
cut.  All  the  broken  roots  should  be  cut  back  from" 
the  injured  end  with  a  sharp  knife,  so  the  smoot.h 
w^ound  will  heal  quickly.  Since  the  tree  has  lost 
many  of  the  rootlets  that  supply  it  with  food,  the 
branches  must  be  cut  back,  too,  else  they  will  need 
more  food  and  moisture  than  the  roots  can  supply. 
People  usually  leave  too  much  of  the  top  on  a  tree 
that  is  transplanted.  The  trees  should  not  be  ex- 
posed to  the  sun  and  wind  before  planting,  and  the 
planter  should  not  allow  the  roots  to  dry  out.  If  the 
roots  are  covered  with  a  coat  of  clay,  it  is  well  to  dii3 
them  in  water  before  setting  them. 


Fig.  93.    Irrigating  an  orchard. 


ORCHARDS 


175 


Packing  About  the  Roots.  The  holes  dug  for  the 
trees  should  be  a  little  larger  than  the  roots  seem 
to  need,  so  that  they  ,can  be  placed  straight.  Since 
the  roots  feed  the  tree,  it  is  very  important  to  pack 
the  soil  well  about  them^  so  they  can  get  plenty  of 
liquid  food  from  it.  The  upper  roots  should  be 
raised  until  the  soil  is  packed  firmly  under  them. 
Roots  should  never  be  crowded  together,  but  spread 
out  naturally  to  grow 
as  they  will.  In  the 
bottom  of  the  hole 
the  soil  must  be 
packed  very  tight, 
but  the  top  four 
inches  should  be  loose 
for  a  dust  mulch.  A 
common  mistake  is  to 
pack  the  soil  tightly 
on  top  and  leave  it 
loose  underneath. 
This  brings  the  mois- 
ture to  the  surface 
and  causes  the  young 
trees  to  die  of  thirst. 

Tilling  the  Orchard. 

xiiiiiig  tiic  vri  uxxa,  «.  ^^^   ^^^    ^  ^^^^  between  rows. 

The  old  idea  that  or- 
chards would  take  care  of  themselves  after  planting 
is  a  thing  of  the  past.  Now  the  successful  fruit  grow- 
ers till  their  orchards  as  regularly  as  they  do  their 
crops.    Trees  make  nearly  all  their  growth  early  in 


176  ELEMENTAEY  AGKICULTUEE 

the  year,  before  the  hot  months  of  midsummer,  so 
it  is  during  the  spring  months  that  they  need  plenty 
of  food  and  moisture.  Then  is  the  time  to  cultivate 
the  orchards.  More  than  nine-tenths  of  the  fruit  is 
water,  and  we  know  that  tillage  is  very  helpful  in 
saving  moisture.  The  drier  the  season,  the  more 
the  harrow  and  cultivator  are  needed.  After.  July, 
when  the  growing  period  is  over,  a  crop  may  be 
sown  on  the  orchard  to  be  plowed  under  later  as 
green  manure  (Fig.  94). 

Injury  to  Trees.  In  tilling  orchards,  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  injure  the  trees.  The  grass  and  weeds 
that  grow  close  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree  do  very 
little  harm,  and  they  had  better  be  let  alone,  rather 
than  run  the  risk  of  injuring  the  tender  bark  of  the 
young  tree. 

Pruning.  If  young  trees  are  well  pruned  when 
they  are  set  out,  they  will  need  very  little  more 
trimming  until  they  begin  to  bear.  Shoots  that 
.cross  each  other  and  interfere  with  other  branches 
should  be  removed.  When  branches  are  likely  to 
become  too  crowded,  the  knife  should  be  used.  Many 
fruit  growers  change  the  shape  of  their  trees  to 
their  fancy  by  pruning.  They  cut  the  tops  back  so 
the  trees  will  spread  out  instead  of  growing  tall,  for 
it  is  difficult  to  spray  a  tall  tree,  and  the  fruit  is 
harder  to  gather. 

Spraying  Fruit  Trees.  All  fruit  trees  have  ene- 
mies which  the  farmer  must  fight.  More  than 
twenty-five  years  ago  a  man  who  was  employed  by 


OECHAEDS  177 

the  state  of  Illinois  to  study  plants,  discovered  that 
Paris  green  would  kill  the  potato  beetle.  He  said 
that  he  believed  the  same  poison  would  stop  the 
cankerworm  from  injuring  the  apple  crops.  For  a 
good  many  years  farmers  doubted  and  shook  their 
heads;  but  here  and  there  a  man  began  to  spray 
with  Paris  Green  to  protect  the  crops,  and  they 
found  it  worked  well.  Fewer  apples  were  found 
wormy  in  orchards  that  had  been  sprayed.  (Figs. 
38  and  39.)  This  was  only  the  beginning  of  an  in- 
telligent fight  to  protect  crops  and  trees  from  in- 
sects. Many  discoveries  have  been  made  since,  and 
now  the  best  farmers  everywhere  are  spraying  with 
different  mixtures  to  save  their  trees  and  fruits, 
their  gardens  and  other  crops.  In  the  West,  where 
the  finest  of  fruit  is  raised,  state  laws  have  been 
passed,  commanding  every  orchardist  to  spray  his 
trees  whether  he  finds  them  troubled  with  insects 
or  not.  This  is  to  make  sure  he  will  not  grow  mil- 
lions of  insects  to  attack  the  orchards  and  crop  of 
some  neighboring  fruit  grower  who  is  careful  in 
spraying. 

Bordeaux  Mixture.  Besides  the  insects  which  in- 
jure our  trees,  there  are  tiny  robber  plants,  or  fungi, 
like  mildew  and  the  brownrot,  that  attack  peaches 
and  other  stone  fruits,  sometimes  even  apples  and 
pears.  In  France,  where  many  grapes  are  raised  to 
make  wine,  the  grape  farmers  near  Bordeaux  found 
that  their  vines  were  being  injured  by  mildew.  So 
they  set  very  earnestly  to  work  to  find  a  check  for 


178  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

this  enemy.  After  much  experimenting,  they  dis- 
covered a  poison  spray  now  called  the  Bordeaux 
mixture.  It  is  used  all  over  the  world  to-day  to 
kill  the  fungi  that  are  injuring  gardens  and  orchards. 

Spraying  Machines.  A  farmer  who  has  not  more 
than  five  acres  in  his  orchard  can  use  a  spraying 
machine  worked  by  hand.  There  are  many  kinds  of 
good  spraying  outfits.  (Fig,  95.)  It  is  chiefly  im- 
portant to  be  sure  that  the  liquid  is  well  stirred  by 
some  means,  so  that  the  poisons  will  not  settle  to 
the  bottom  of  the  barrel  instead  of  reaching  the 
tree.  The  best  fruit  growers  spray  their  trees  regu- 
larly. (Fig.  96.)  Peaches  and  prunes  are  usually 
not  sprayed  unless  they  are  attacked  by  the  scale. 
In  many  places  apples  are  sprayed  three  times — 
once  just  before  the  blossoms  open,  again  just  before 
the  blossoms  fall,  and  a  third  time  about  ten  or 
twelve  days  later.  The  mixture  used  is  three  or 
four  pounds  of  copper  sulphate,  five  pounds  of  lime, 
and  a  half  pound  of  Paris  green  in  fifty  gallons  of 
water. 

Thinning  Fruit.  Some  fruit  growers  are  now 
urging  the  thinning  of  the  fruit  crop.  A  part  of 
the  fruit  on  heavily-loaded  trees  is  taken  off  before 
it  is  half  grown,  so  that  which  is  left  may  grow  to 
a  larger  size.  Though  it  costs  a  good  deal  to  thin, 
the  growers  argue  that  it  costs  no  more  to  pick  the 
fruit  when  small  than  when  it  is  full  grown;  and 
the  fruit  that  is  left  to  ripen  is  so  much  larger  and 
brings  so  much  better  prices  that  it  is  well  worth 


ORCHARDS 


179 


while.  In  Western  regions  the  trees  bear  such  heavy- 
loads  that  the  branches  break  unless  some  of  the 
fruit  is  removed.  When  the  crop  is  light  there  is 
no  need  of  thinning.  Apples  usually  grow  in  clus- 
ters from  three  to  a  half  dozen  in  a  bunch.    If  one 


rj; — r 

h 

%. 

^ 

to- 

i 

^■H 

hI 

HHhV  ^-  vfi  ft 

Ij^B 

Bi^i-- 

^1 

^H^ 

IBB 

I^Hw 

J 

H 

In 

^ 

I^^K^^K^^^^^r^        ^H 

■ 

1 

WM 

iiii| 

1 

Fig.  95.    A  good  spraying  out  fit  for  the  orchard. 

is  growing  fancy  fruit  he  should  remove  all  but 
the  best  apple  of  each  cluster.  Pears  grow  like 
apples  and  may  be  thinned  in  the  same  way.  In 
thinning  stone  fruits,  the  work  may  be  done  by 
pulling  the  fruit  off;  but  with  apples  and  pears  it 


180  ELEMENTAEY-AGEICULTURE 

is  safest  to  clip  them  with  sharp-pointed  shears,  be- 
cause pulling  is  apt  to  break  the  branch.  A  fruit 
tree  that  has  been  properly  pruned  and  the  crop 
thinned,  will  not  need  props  to  keep  it  from  break- 
ing down;  and  it  is  more  likely  to  bear  a  good  crop 
every  year. 

Harvesting  Fruit.  A  farmer  who  grows  fruit  for 
market  must  pick  it  carefully  to  prevent  bruising. 
In  order  to  make  the  fruit  attractive  to  the  buyer, 
the  grower  grades  his  apples,  that  is,  he  sorts  out 
those  of  the  same  *  size  and  packs  them  together. 
Boxes  are  being  used  for  packing,  though  many 
still  prefer  barrels  for  apples.  Neat  and  .careful 
packing  helps  to  secure  good  prices  for  the  fruit 
crop. 

Peaches.  Though  many  peaches  are  raised  in 
California,  the  greater  part  of  them  come  from  the 
Eastern  states.  A  mildly  temperate  climate  favors 
this  fruit.  They  must  be  packed  quickly  and  closely 
and  sent  by  fast  freight  when  shipped.  Packers  get 
two  cents  a  basket,  and  an  expert  packer  can  fill  a 
hundred  baskets  in  a  day. 

Apples.  Of  all  the  many  fruits  grown  in  our 
country,  the  apple  is  the  most  important.  More 
than  forty  million  barrels  are  used  every  year,  or 
about  a  half  barrel  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
in  the  United  States.  There  are  fewer  difficulties 
to  meet  in  raising  apples  than  any  other  fruit.  The 
tree  is  hardy  and  is  not  easily  injured.  There  are 
many  varieties  of  apples  that  keep  well  through 


ORCHARDS 


181 


the  winter.  All  kinds  are  firm  and  can  be  handled 
and  marketed  with  less  care  and  trouble  than  other 
fruits.  Apples  may  be  put  to  many  uses.  They  are 
eaten  raw  or  they  may  be  cooked  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  Some  are  dried  or  made  into  jelly,  and  in 
this  form  they  may  be  kept  for  a  long  time. 

Seedless  Apples.     Since  we  have  varieties  of  seed- 
less oranges,  men  have  been  trying  to  develop  an 


d 

jt 

K^ 

^^ 

M 

J 

i^ 

'.1 

■ 

^?^_ 

Mm>i^U>:' 

t^^^B 

T 

'^M 

^'^>^, 

4«^*W^^ 

§m    ^ 

m 

K 

BHI 

Fig.  96.     The  successful  orchardist  always  sprays. 

apple  without  a  core.  When  this  kind  takes  the 
place  of  those  we  now  use  it  will  be  a  splendid  thing 
for  us  all,  because  there  are  certain  insects  that 
live  in  the  core  of  the  apple  and  there  is  so  much 
waste  in  removing  it.  Some  day  seedless  apples  will 
be  a  very  common  thing. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
THE  FARM  GARDEN 

The  Boy's  Garden.  The  garden  is  a  chance  for 
the  farmer  boys  and  girls  to  have  a  little  farm  of 
their  own.  It  is  impossible  for  every  child  to  have 
much  space  in  the  .school  garden  (Fig.  97),  but  at 
home  he  should  have  a  little  plot  of  ground  to  raise 
his  crops.  Here  he  can  plant  what  he  likes  and 
learn  many  important  lessons  about  how  to  till  the 
soil  and  to  care  for  plants.  Any  boy  likes  to  try 
experiments  for  himself  and  to  feel  that  there  is  one 
spot  where  he  is  the  ^Vboss.''  Whatever  is  raised 
in  the  .child's  garden  should  be  his  produce  to  sell 
or  give  away  as  he  pleases. 

A  Good  Story.  The  story  is  told  of  a  certain 
farmer's  boy  who  was  anxious  to  leave  the  farm. 
He  was  tired  of  the  salt  meat  and  potatoes  that 
were  served  at  his  father's  table  three  times  a  day. 
One  summer  he  went  to  work  for  a  neighbor.  Here 
they  had  plenty  of  delicious  sweet  corn,  tender 
young  beets,  sliced,  ripe  tomatoes,  and  meaty  Lima 
beans,  with  a  juicy  melon  from  the  spring  house  for 
dessert.  The  boy  went  home,  started  a  garden,  and 
decided  to  stay  on  the  farm.     (Fig.  98.) 

Gardens  Everywhere.  It  is  surprising  how  many 
garden  crops  can  be  grown  in  every  part  of  the 
United  States.    In  the  cooler  climates,  garden  truck 

182 


THE  FARM  GARDEN 


183 


grows  rapidly  because  of  plenty  of  moisture.  In 
Dakota  the  best  place  for  a  garden  is  where  some 
large  snowdrift  has  melted  late  in  the  spring.  In 
Texas  vegetables  grow  the  year  around.    Different 


Fig.  97.     A  school  garden. 


varieties  belong  to  different  sections  of  the  country, 
so  seeds  should  be  selected  that  have  been  tested 
and  do  well  in  the  region  where  they  are  to  be 
planted. 

Location  and  Soil.  Since  the  garden  belongs  to 
the  kitchen,  it  should  be  as  near  it  as  possible. 
Almost  any  soil  can  be  graded,  manured,  and 
drained  into  a  good  garden,  unless  it  is  a  very  stiff 
clay  that  will  not  admit  draining.    The  best  garden 


184  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

soil  is  a  sandy  loam  that  will  dry  out  quickly  after 
rains,  so  that  it  may  be  cultivated  often. 

Fertilizing.  Plowing  in  the  spring  must  be  done 
as  soon  as  the  ground  will  permit,  but  it  is  better 
to  plow  the  garden  in  the  fall  so  that  freezing  will 
crumble  the  ground  into  fine  particles.  Garden 
plants  are  grown  close  together  in  a  small  space, 
and  we  \\^ant  them  to  grow  quickly,  so  they  need  a 
great  deal  of  plant  food.  A  thick  dressing  of  stable 
manure,  from  five  to  ten  loads  to  an  acre,  should  be 
put  on  before  the  second  plowing.  If  this  garden 
manure  is  hauled  in  the  fall  and  made  into  a  long, 
narrow  heap  mixed  with  sods  and  forest  leaves,  it 
will  be  well  rotted  and  fine  by  spring;  and  it  will 
easily  mix  through  the  soil,  giving  every  inch  of 
ground  its  portion.  Leaves  from  the  lawn  should 
always  be  piled  on  the  garden  to  decay. 

Well-rotted  manure  supplies  all  the  nitrogen  a 
garden  requires,  but  to  give  vegetables  a  good  flavor, 
potash  is  needed.  Wood  ashes  will  furnish  this. 
After  the  manure  is  plowed  under,  the  ashes  are 
sifted  on  top,  and  then  the  surface  is  harrowed  until 
all  is  fine  as  an  ash  heap.  Dried  hen  manure, 
pounded  fine  and  sifted,  is  often  harrowed  in  with 
the  ashes  and  is  especially  good  for  some  garden 
crops. 

Preparation.  The  garden  should  be  plowed  from 
six  to  eight  inches  deep  and  harrowed  four  or  five 
times.  All  stones  must  be  removed.  If  these  can 
be  buried  so  as  to  be  beneath  the  reach  of  the  plow, 


THE  FARM  GARDEN 


185 


Fic.  98.     A  hoy's  garden — Beautiful  as  well  as  iwofitahle. 

they  will  help  to  drain  certain  wet  spots  in  the  gar- 
den. A  hand  roller  and  hand  rake  are  used  for  pul- 
verizing and  crushing  lumps  of  earth  left  by  the 
harrow.  For  root  crops  in  clay,  a  subsoil  plow  that 
drags  a  second  share  after  the  first  and  breaks  and 
loosens  the  bottom  of  the  furrow  to  a  great  depth  is 
often  used. 

Garden  Tools.  Small  hand  tools,  such  as  trowels, 
spuds,  and  dibbles,  are  used  in  transplanting.  The 
hoe  and  steel  garden  rake  are  useful  in  finishing 
the  top  of  the  ground.  The  common  hoe  is  too  wide 
for  narrow  rows  and  delicate  plants,  so  there  are 


186  ELEMENTAEY  AGEICULTURE 

many  different  sorts  of  blades  made.  Markers  for 
keeping  rows  straight  and  a  small  hand  roller,  are 
great  helps.  .The  wheel  hoe  is  the  best  cultivator. 
Every  farmer  should  have  blades  of  different  sizes 
and  a  set  of  disks  which  can  be  used  on  the  culti- 
vator. 

Mulch.  We  know  that  a  covering  of  fine,  dry 
earth,  or  a  dust  mulch,  prevents  moisture  from  es- 
caping from  the  ground.  ^'A  finely  raked  garden 
bed  is  dry  on  top,  but  the  footprints  of  the  cat  re- 
main moist  for  days,  because  the  animal  packed  the 
soil  wherever  it  stepped,  and  the  water  climbed  up 
from  one  grain  of  earth  to  another  until  it  reached 
the  surface."  Besides  convenience  in  cultivating, 
it  is  wise  to  plant  seeds  in  rows,  instead  of  in  beds 
which  have  been  raised  or  hilled  up,  with  high  beds 
and  low  places  between.  When  we  leave  the  ground 
rough,  or  make  large  holes  around  our  garden 
plants,  we  leave  more  soil  exposed  to  the  air,  and 
this  helps  moisture  to  escape  from  the  ground.  In 
a  very  wet  season,  it  is  well  to  hill  up  crops  like 
potatoes  or  corn,  because  we  then  wish  to  get  rid 
of  part  of  the  moisture. 

Planting.  We  are  usually  told  to  make  the  earth 
firm  and  well  packed  over  newly-planted  seeds,  be- 
cause thi-s  brings  moisture  to  the  seeds  lying  near 
the  surface  and  so  hastens  the  sprouting.  As  soon 
as  the  seeds  have  sprouted,  the  ground  should  be 
loosened  to  stop  evaporation.  Large  seeds  can  be 
planted  deep  and  the  earth  well  packed  over  them, 


THE  FABM  GARDEN  187 

then  the  top  is  raked.  To  water  a  bed,  wet  it  thor- 
oughly in  the  evening.  When  the  morning  sun 
begins  to  dry  it  out,  loosen  the  top  earth  to  stop 
the  rise  of  moisture.  Sprinkling  the  plants  every 
few  days  is  very  harmful.  Do  not  sow  small,  slow- 
sprouting  seeds  like  celery  and  onions  in  land  that 
bakes.  A  layer  of  chaff  or  a  board  may  be  laid  on 
the  row  to  h^ld  moisture,  but  it  must  be  gradually 
lifted  as  soon  as  the  seeds  get  a  start. 

Transplanting.  In  thickly-sown  seed  beds  one 
must  thin  or  move  the  plants  to  the  garden  as  soon 
as  they  have  their  first  true  leaves.  While  seeds  of 
lettuce,  onions,  radishes,  peas,  and  many  other 
things,  can  be  sown  in  the  ground  in  the  early 
spring,  we  can'  gain  from  four  to  six  weeks  by  sow- 
ing the  seeds  of  others  indoors  and  transplanting 
them.  Many  farmers  buy  their  egg  plants,  tomatoes, 
cauliflower,  and  peppers  from  hothouse  gardens; 
while  others  grow  their  own  in  window  boxes,  hot- 
beds, and  cold  frames. 

The  Window  Box.  A  window  box  fifteen  inches 
square  and  six  inches  deep,  or  old  tin  pans  nearly 
filled  with  soil,  are  put  in  a  south  or  east  window. 
Suitable  soil  or  dirt  has  been  obtained  in  the  fall 
and  stored  in  the  cellar  or  some  convenient  place. 
This  is  mixed  with  a  little  coal  ashes  or  fine  sand 
to  make  it  light  and  loamy.  The  seed  is  scattered 
and  covered  lightly.  The  soil  is  then  watered  with 
a  fine  sprinjcler.  Squashes  and  cucumbers  may  be 
planted  on  pieces  of  sod  turned  upside  dow^.    These 


188  ELEMENTAKY  AGRICULTURE 

sods  can  be  set  into  the  ground  as  soon  as  the  soil 
can  be  worked. 

Hotbeds.  Hotbeds  are  box-like  frames  sunk  in 
the  ground  and  covered  with  a  sash  filled  in  with 
glass  or  clotli.  Some  of  the  soil  in  the  frame  is 
taken  out,  and  horse  manure  is  put  in  its  place. 
When  packed  solidly  in  the  pit,  the  manure  rots  and 
produces  heat.  Over  the  manure  is  three  or  four 
inches  of  fine  garden  soil  in  which  the  seeds  are 
planted.  The  manure  keeps  the  soil  above  it  warm. 
Hot  air  or  hot  water  pipes  are  sometimes  used  under 
the  hotbeds  instead  of  manure.  A  well-drained  spot, 
sheltered  from  the  cold  winds  and  sloping  to  the 
south,  is  best,  because  the  sunshine  is  very  helpful. 
It  takes  care  and  judgment  to  handle  a  hotbed  prop- 
erly, because  plants  must  be  aired  and  watered  at 
proper  times. 

Cold  Frames.  The  cold  frame  is  like  the  hotbed, 
but  has  no  manure  in  it  and  therefore  no  bottom 
heat.  A  combination  hotbed  and  cold  frame  may 
be  made  of  a  large  drygoods  box  partly  filled  with 
horse  manure  well  trampled  down  and  covered  with 
clean  straw.  Small,  shallow  boxes  are  nearly  filled 
with  soil.  After  the  seed  has  been  planted  in  them, 
they  are  placed  on  the  top  of  the  manure  and  cov- 
ered with  a  pane  of  glass.  Thus  each  box  becomes 
a  little  hotbed.  The  glass  is  removed  now  and  then 
for  air.  If  the  manure  becomes  too  warm,  the  small 
boxes  are  raised  on  bricks.  When  the  heat  of  the 
manure  is  gone,  the  hotbed  becomes  a  cold  frame. 


THE  FARM  GARDEN  189 

Preparing  for  Transplanting.  When  the  ground 
out  of  doors  gets  ready  for  transplanting,  the  plants 
in  the  window  boxes  may  gradually  become  used  to 
the  colder  air  by  having  the  window  raised  a  little 
at  a  time.  The  hotbed  sash  is  left  open  on  bright, 
sunny  days  until  the  plants  are  ready  for  living  in 
the  open  air. 

Transplanting.  In  transplanting,  one  must  handle 
plants  gently  and  plant  them  in  freshly-turned  soil 
which  is  very  fine.  A  hole  is  made  with  a  dibble  or 
trowel.  Put  a  cupful  of  water  in  each  hole,  and 
press  the  earth  firmly  about  the  roots.  Roots  of 
plants  are  often  broken  off  in  transplanting.  Ex- 
cept with  tomatoes  and  eggplants,  part  of  the  leaves 
may  be  cut  off  so  the  roots  will  not  have  too  much 
top  to  feed  until  they  get  a  firm  hold.  If  the  soil 
is  freshly  turned  and  the  transplanting  is  well  done, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  water  plants.  If  late  in  the 
season  the  gardener  may  transplant  on  a  rainy  or 
cloudy  day.  A  handful  of  grass  or  hay  packed 
around  plants  that  have  just  been  set  out  is  better 
than  covering  with  tin  cans  or  flower  pots,  for  they 
need  light  and  air  to  breathe. 

Rotating  or  Changing  Crops.  Every  vegetable 
has  its  own  insect  enemies  and  diseases.  If  the 
same  vegetables  are  raised  Vear  after  year  on  the 
same  soil,  these  insects  and  diseases  will  grow  worse. 
The  vegetable  also  uses  up  some  of  the  particular 
plant  foods  that  it  needs.  Some  plants  are  surface 
feeders,  the  roots  not  growing  deep.    Beets,  carrots, 


190  ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTURE  ' 

and  potatoes  grow  deeper  and  are  able  to  feed  where 
the  others  could  not.  If  vine  crops  are  followed 
with  root  crops,  the  latter  will  do  well  by  feeding 
below  where  the  others  did.  Kadishes,  early  lettuce, 
spinach,  or  peas  may  be  harvested  early,  and  cab- 
bage, beets,  or  late  sweet  corn  planted  in  their 
places. 

Planting  Between  Rows.  Planting  between  rows 
sometimes  works  well.  In  late  June,  when  potato 
\  ines  are  well  started,  and  the  rows  are  well  cleaned, 
late  sweet  corn  is  often  planted  between.  However, 
if  the  season  is  too  dry,  this  may  injure  both  crops. 
Sowing  turnips  broadcast  in  late  sweet  corn  or 
among  tomatoes  and  squash,  is  worth  trying. 

Weeds.  Weeds  take  moisture  and  plant  food  out 
of  the  soil,  and  they  spoil  the  shape  of  many  vege- 
tables by  crowding  in  upon  them  as  they  grow. 
They  should  not  be  allowed  to  reach  the  second  leaf. 
In  hand  weeding  it  is  well  to  collect  the  weeds  in 
a  basket.  They  sometimes  take  root  again  when 
left  on  the  mellow  garden  soils.  When  weeds  get 
a  start,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  cut  off  the  tops  with  a 
sickle  before  seed  forms  on  them.  Mulching  be- 
tween the  rows  with  a  layer  of  straw  prevents  weeds 
from  growing. 

Mulching.  In  a  dry  season,  after  plants  have 
been  cultivated  a  few  times  and  are  well  above 
ground,  hay  or  straw  about  four  inches  deep  may 
be  put  between  the  rows.  This  saves  the  labor  of 
weeding  and  keeps  the  soil  moist  and  cool.     It  is 


THE  FARM  GARDEN  191 

especially  good  for  potatoes,  tomatoes,  cabbage, 
beans,  or  vine  plants,  though  in  a  wet  season  straw 
holds  too  much  moisture. 

Peas.  Peas  are  the  first  product  of  real  food 
value  of  the  early  garden.  They  are  both  delicious 
in  flavor  and  very  nourishing.  By  sowing  the  seed 
about  a  week  apart,  and  using  different  varieties, 
one  may  harvest  peas  all  summer.  But  the  late 
varieties  are  in  danger  of  mildew.  Peas  grow  best 
in  a  cool  climate,  in  a  light,  moderately  rich  soil. 
The  first  plantings  should  be  in  as  soon  as  the 
ground  can  be  worked.  The  soil  must  be  kept  mel- 
low and  free  from  weeds  to  raise  good  peas.  They 
need  not  be  staked  with  brush  when  the  garden  is 
worked  with  a  horse  cultivator.  Where  the  brush 
is  used  they  may  be  sowed  in  double  rows.  There 
are  a  great  variety  of  peas,  and  those  that  have 
been  tested  in  your  region  should  be  planted.  Peas 
are  injured  by  mildew  and  the  pea  weevil.  The 
weevil  may  be  killed  in  the  seed  by  placing  them, 
before  planting,  in  a  closed  vessel  containing  carbon- 
bisulphide. 

Beans.  String  beans  should  be  sown  as  soon  as 
the  ground  is  free  from  frost,  and  every  two  weeks 
afterward  to  keep  a  supply  for  the  summer.  A 
sandy  soil  and  a  southern  slope  are  best  for  beans, 
because  they  are  tender  and  easily  frosted.  They 
should  be  planted  less  than  two  inches  deep,  for 
the  growing  top  of  the  little  plant  is  liable  to  be 
torn  off  as  it  comes  through  the  ground.     When 


192  ELEMENTARY  AGRlCUl^TURE 

beans  are  to  be  used  green,  they  must  be  picked 
frequently,  for  if  the  pods  are  allowed  to  ripen,  the 
plants  will  stop  producing.  The  bean  weevil  is  a 
serious  enemy  and  should  be  treated  like  the  pea 
weevil.  Lima  and  butter  beans  are  best  grown  in 
Southern  climates.  Poles  or  stakes  for  these  should 
be  set  at  least  four  feet  apart  each  way  for  their 
vines  to  climb  on.  The  worst  disease  of  string  beans 
is  the  brownish  or  reddish  pitted  spots  upon  the 
pods;  they  spoil  the  appearance  of  the  crop  and  cut 
down  the  yield. 

Beets.  The  root  crops  all  need  a  loose,  deep  soil. 
Subsoiling  or  double  plowing  is  useful  in  hard  earth. 
Beets  are  grown  in  rows  three  and  a  half  feet  apart. 
They  may  be  sown  very  early,  for  the  young  plants 
will  endure  a  light  frost.  They  should  be  thinned 
when  the  plants  are  just  big  enough  for  greens.  For 
winter  beets,  seed  may  be  sown  in  July  or  August 
in  the  central  states.  After  the  first  heavy  frost, 
the  gardener  should  take  up  the  roots,  cut  oif  the 
tops,  and  store  the  beets  in  a  root  cellar  or  pit. 
Leaf -blight  is  common  with  the  beet  in  some  places. 
This  is  prevented  by  spraying  with  the  Bordeaux 
mixture. 

Turnips.  Turnips  should  be  planted  on  a  rainy 
day  and  the  seed  covered  lightly.  About  three- 
quarters  of  an  ounce  of  seed  to  a  row  one  hundred 
feet  long.  Young  plants  are  thinned  from  five  to 
seven  inches  in  the  row.  If  the  plant  grows  too 
slowly,  it  is  stringy  and  bitter.    The  fall  and  winter 


THE  FARM  GARDEN  193 

crops  of  turnips  are  sown  in  July,  after  the  early 
garden  crops  are  harvested.  The  white  and  yellow 
varieties  are'^  equally  good,  except  that  the  white 
turnip  keeps  best  through  the  winter.  Except  the 
maggot,  the  turnip  has  no  insect  enemies. 

Carrots.  Carrots  are  good  for  soups,  salads, 
stews,  and  other  savory  dishes.  Carrot  seed  sprouts 
slowly,  so  it  should  not  be  sown  deep.  The  earth 
must  be  kept  loose.  Radish  seed  sown  in  the  same 
row  will  break  the  earth  crust,  and  show  where  to 
expect  the  row  of  the  carrots  to  appear.  If  seed 
is  sown  several  times,  a  week  or  two  apart,  there 
will  always  be  some  carrots  on  hand.  The  plant  has 
no  serious  insect  enemies. 

Parsnips  and  Salsify.  Parsnips  may  be  treated 
exactly  like  the  carrot.  Parsnips  and  salsify  may 
be  left  in  the  ground  all  winter  without  protection, 
and  they  make  delicious  fresh  vegetables  as  soon 
as  the  ground  thaws.  Salsify,  or  vegetable  oyster, 
should  be  sown  very  early  in  the  spring  and  the 
plants  should  not  be  .crowded. 

Radishes.  Radishes  need  a  mellow,  quick  soil. 
They  do  not  thrive  in  clay.  Tojje  tender  they  must 
grow  rapidly  and  should  be  eaten  while  small. 
Grubs  burrow  into  the  roots  and  make  them  wormy, 
if  the  same  piece  of  ground  is  used  every  year. 

Horse-radish.  Horse-radish  is  grown  from  small 
roots  that  are  trimmed  from  large  ones  when  the 
crop  is  stored  in  the  fall.  These  sets  are  planted 
two  or  three  inches  deep,  top  side  up,  and  from 


194  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  apart  in  fairly  wide  rows. 

Swiss  Chard.  Swiss  chard  provides  ''greens''  all 
through  the  season.  Only  one  sowing  need  be  made. 
The  chard  is  cultivated  the  same  as  the  beet  and 
thinned  to  twelve  inches.  If,  when  the  outer  leaves 
are  as  large  as  your  hand,  they  are  stripped  off,  a 
new  supply  of  tender  ones  will  keep  coming. 

Asparagus.  Asparagus  is  a  hardy  plant.  Its  seed 
may  be  sown  either  early  in  the  spring  or  late  in 
the  fall.  When  the  roots  are  a  year  old,  they  should 
be  transplanted  in  rows  five  feet  apart,  away  from 
roots  of  trees  or  other  plants.  As  much  stable 
manure  as  can  be  plowed  under,  plowing  ten  to 
twelve  inches  deep,  should  be  put  on.  Dig  a  trench 
nine  or  ten  inches  deep,  and  lay  the  roots  about 
two  feet  apart  in  the  bottom,  covering  them  two 
inches  deep  with  loose  soil.  The  young  roots  that 
come  up  from  the  seed  every  summer  should  be 
weeded  out.  If  the  seed  balls  are  ,cut  off  before  they 
turn  red,  the  plants  can  be  kept  from  self -sowing. 
When  the  stalks  begin  coming  up  in  the  spring,  the 
ground  may  be  mulched  with  manure.  This  will 
save  hoeing  and  also  feed  the  roots. 

Sweet  Corn.  If  good  seed  is  planted,  it  will  pro- 
duce a  tender,  sugary  ear  of  sweet  corn.  Corn  varie- 
ties mix  so  easily  that  only  the  most  careful  selection 
of  kernels  can  improve  a  strain  of  corn.  If  the  first 
lot  is  planted  early  in  April,  it  will  ripen  the  latter 
part  of  June  in  the  latitude  of  New  York.  The  corn 
should  be  planted  thickly  in  drills  with  six  or  seven 


THE  FARM  GARDEN 


105 


kernels  in  a  hill.  If  some  should  fail  to  sprout, 
there  will  be  plenty  left.  If  all  seeds  grow,  it  is  easy 
to  thin  them.  Be  sure  that  there  are  not  lumps  or 
stones  over  the  corn.  The  plant  cannot  fight  its 
way  out  like  beans  and  pumpkins.    After  the  corn 


Fig.  99.     A   well-cultivated  cahbage   lot, 

is  up,  a  handful  of  wood  ashes  on  each  hill  will 
* '  make  it  jump. ' '  Break  the  crust  after  rains,  keep 
the  weeds  and  suckers  down,  and  cultivate  between 
tlie  rows.  For  a  continuous  crop,  plant  every  ten 
or  twelve  days  until  the  latter  part  of  July. 

Cabbage.     Cabbages   need   a   moist,   deep,   well- 
rl mined  soil.     They  thrive  better  in  a  spot  where 


196  ELEMENTAKY  AGRICULTUKE 

cabbage,  turnips,  or  mustard  have  not  been  grown 
for  three  years.  Select  good  seed,  and  sow  in  a  hot 
bed  or  window  box.  When  the  plants  are  in  the 
fourth  leaf,  thin  them  to  secure  stocky  plants,  and 
transplant  only  the  best  roots.  When  transplanting, 
remove  the  upper  part  of  the  leaves,  set  the  plants 
firmly,  and  stir  the  surface  soil.  To  stop  the  heads 
from  bursting  as  they  form,  one  may  loosen  the 
roots  by  slightly  lifting  and  twisting  the  plant. 
Whitish  butterflies  lay  their  eggs  on  cabbages. 
These  hatch  green  worms  that  eat  the  leaves.  Kill 
the  worms  and  spray  with  Paris  green  and  water, 
or  sprinkle  with  salt,  lime,  wood  ashes,  or  pepper. 
The  cabbage  maggot  works  at  the  stem  or  root  and 
causes  decay.  A  piece  of  tarred  paper  put  around 
the  stem  on  the  ground  drives  away  the  moth  that 
lays  the  eggs.     (Fig.  99.) 

Lettuce.  Lettuce  is  the  most  widely-grown  salad 
vegetable.  It  is  now  ready  for  the  table  every  month 
in  the  year.  Winter  and  early  spring  crops  are 
grown  in  cold  frames.  Seed  for  an  early  sprin^l3rop 
may  be  sowed  in  a  cold  frame  in  March.  Sowings 
in  the  garden  ,can  be  made  from  April  to  October. 
The  cabbage  varieties,  or  head  lettuce,  are  blanched 
by  tying  the  tops  together. 

Cucumbers,  Melons,  and  Squashes.  The  seeds  of 
cucumbers,  melons,  and  squashes  should  be  planted 
in  shallow  hills,  three  or  four  in  a  hill.  They  are  all 
tender  to  frost.  If  each  hill  is  covered  with  a  box 
frame,  it  can  be  raised  ou  warm  days  and  taken 


THE  FARM  GARDEN  197 

away  when  frost  is  past.  The  cucumber  beetle  and 
the  ** stink  bug**  are  the  chief  enemies  of  these 
plants.  Ashes,  lime,  and  tobacco  dust  are  used  to 
drive  them  away.  Muskmelons  grow  in  warm, 
sandy  land.    Soil  and  location  affect  them  greatly. 

Onions.  Onions  are  grown  from  seed  or  sets  in 
the  open  ground  or  in  hotbeds.  If  sown  outside,  the 
seed  should  be  put  in  as  early  as  possible  in  shallow 
rows  three  feet  apart  and  covered  with  a  half-inch 
of  fine,  moist  earth.    They  must  be  carefully  weeded. 

Tomatoes.  Tomatoes  grew  first  in  the  South,  so 
they  need  long  seasons  to  ripen.  Now,  by  selecting 
the  right  variety,  the  tomato  can  be  grown  in  nearly 
every  section  of  the  United  States.  The  plant  may 
be  started  under  glass  or  in  window  boxes  about 
March  first.  They  should  be  put  in  a  cold  frame 
where  light  and  air  are  admitted  on  sunny  days, 
until  the  ground  in  the  garden  is  warm.  Toma- 
to plants  are  set  from  two  to  four  feet  apart. 
They  need  moderate  pruning  and  some  simple  means 
of  holding  the  plant  off  the  ground  when  the  fruit 
is  ripe.  The  varieties  differ  in  color  from  pink  and 
creamy  and  briglit  yellows  to  bright  red. 

Grapes.  In  order  that  grapes  may  ripen,  they 
need  a  warm  soil  and  a  sunny  exposure.  A  trellis 
is  used  for  support.  Ten  feet  between  the  vines  is 
best  for  most  kinds.  The  Concord  grape  is  raised 
in  New  York  and  Ohio ;  the  small  Delaware,  in  Dela- 
ware, Maryland,  and  New  Jersey;  but  if  we  wish  to 
see  great  clusters  of  white  grapes,  we  must  go  to 


198  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTUEE 

California.  The  largest  grapevine  of  the  world  may 
there  be  seen.    It  covers  half  an  acre. 

Eaisins  are  dried  grapes.  There  is  a  raisin  vine- 
yard in  southern  California  which  covers  five  thou- 
sand acres.  Vines  are  pruned  every  year  and  the 
grapes  gathered  from  the  new  shoots.  Five-sixths 
of  the  grapes  in  California  are  made  into  wine  or 
grape  juice,  or  they  are  pressed  as  raisins.  The 
dried  currants  that  we  use  are  really  dried  grapes. 
Grapevines  are  the  prey  of  downy  mildew,  when  it 
is  hot  and  dry — also  of  black  rot.  Vines  that  have 
been  weakened  by  bearing  too  heavy  crops  are  often 
attacked.  Prunings  and  fallen  leaves  and  fruit 
should  be  destroyed,  and  the  vines  sprayed  with  the 
Bordeaux  mixture.  The  first  spraying  should  be 
done  in  the  spring  before  the  growth  starts,  and 
this  should  be  followed  every  three  weeks  through 
the  summer.  To  protect  grapes  for  home  use  from 
black  rot,  frost,  and  birds,  the  clusters  may  be  cov- 
ered with  paper  bags  which  are  allowed  to  stay  on 
until  the  fruit  is  ripe.  The  warmth  induced  by  the 
bags  makes  the  fruit  ripen  earlier  and  it  is  larger. 

Raspberries  and  Blackberries.  The  raspberries 
and  blackberries  do  well  in  cool  soil  kept  moist  by 
mulching,  after  the  ground  has  been  thoroughly  pre- 
pared. The  shoots  of  both  raspberries  and  black- 
berries that  are  sent  up  one  season,  bear  fruit  and 
die  the  next  season.  Pinch  back  the  new  shoots 
when  they  are  two  or  three  feet  tall.  This  hastens 
the  throwing  out  of  side  shoots  upon  which  fruit 


THE  FARM  GARDEN 


199 


will  be  borne  the  following  year.  As  soon  as  freez- 
ing weather  is  over  in  the  spring,  these  side  shoots 
should  be  cut  back  from  nine  to  twelve  inches.  When 
the  crop  is  gathered  the  old  canes  or  shoots  should 
be  removed,  and  new  ones  cut  away,  leaving  four 


Fui.   loo.     Nothiiuf    fit)   fiue    (is    Jtonie-grown    si r<nrhrrri(s. 

to  five  good  canes,  to  each  hill.  For  red  rust,  one 
must  pull  the  plant  out  of  the  ground  and  burn  it. 
Spraying  has  a  good  effect  in  fighting  off  the  dis- 
eases of  the  plants. 

Strawberries.  The  strawberry  thrives  best  on  a 
strong  sandy  loam  or  a  light  .clay  loam.  For  most 
purposes  the  plants  do  well  to   grow  in  narrow, 


200  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTUEE 

matted  rows.  They  should  be  set  out  in  the  spring 
as  eariy  as  the  ground  can  be  worked,  in  rows  tjiree 
and  one-half  feet  apart,  with  the  plants  from  one 
to  two  feet  apart  in  the  row.  Planting  may  be  done 
with  a  trowel  or  dibble.  One  must  take  care  to 
spread  the  roots  as  much  as  possible  and  to  press 
the  soil  firmly  about  them,  holding  the  plant  so  the 
bud  will  be  just  above  the  surface.  As  fast  as  run- 
ners form,  they  should  be  removed,  so  that  the 
strength  of  the  plant  may  be  used  in  producing 
fruit.  (Fig.  100.)  During  the  first  season,  straw- 
berries are  worked  often.  Weeds  must  be  kept 
down,  and  the  surface  soil  should  be  loose  and  open. 
Just  before  the  ground  freezes,  'a  thorough  cultiva- 
tion should  be  given.  After  the  ground  is  frozen, 
the  plants  may  be  mulched  to  the  depth  of  two  inches 
with  straw.  The  second  season  should  bring  a  good 
crop. 

^  QUESTIONS 

(1)  What  are  the  advantages  of  deep  plowing?  (2) 
What  are  some  of  the  good  fertilizers  for  the  garden? 
(3)  What  garden  tools  will  save  time  and  improve  the 
crops?  (4)  Why  does  the  garden  need  a  mulch?  (5) 
Is  mulch  needed  in  a  very  wet  season?  (6)  Why  do 
you  hill  up  potatoes  in  a  wet  season  and  not  in  a  dry 
one?  (7)  Why  should  one  pack  the  top  of  the  ground 
over  garden  seeds  that  are  planted  with  only  a  slight 
cover?  (8)  Is  it  better  to  water  a  garden  often  or  sel- 
dom and  thoroughly?  (9)  As  soon  as  the  surface  is  dry 
after  watering  or  after  a  rain,  why  do  we   cultivate? 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
COUNTRY  EOADS 

The  Importance  of  Good  Roads.  Few  boys  and 
girls  realize  how  important  good  roads  are  to  the 
farmer.  Well-made  highways  enable  farmers  to 
save  much  time  in  marketing  produce,  and  time  is 
money.  Easy  travel  also  saves  the  energy  of  the 
horses,  which  means  economy  of  feed.  When  the 
roads  are  in  order  the  farmer  can  use  his  team  when 
the  field  work  can  not  be  done,  and  this  reduces  the 
idle  time  of  the  horses.  If  travel  is  easy,  the  farmer 
will  go  to  market  oftener,  selling  many  odds  and 
ends  of  farm  produce  that  otherwise  might  be  left 
to  go  to  waste  because  of  the  time  it  would  take  to 
dispose  of  it  to  advantage.  For  these  and  other 
reasons  a  fine  public  road  makes  the  farms  along 
the  way  more  valuable.     (Fig.  101.) 

Sociability  Encouraged.  Aside  from  the  money 
gain  to  the  farmer,  good  roads  encourage  his  family 
to  move  about  more  and  to  enjoy  themselves  socially. 
They  gain  a  great  deal  in  this  contact  with  their 
neighbors.  They  go  oftener  to  church,  to  other 
social  events,  to  lectures,  and  to  the  city. 

Good  Roads  and  Schools.     The  older  children  may 
go  farther  to  school  if  the  roads  permit.     Consoli 
dated  schools  are  thus  made  possible,  and  pupils 
may  be  transported  at  public  expense  some  distance 

201 


202  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

to  the  larger  centralized  schools,  which  have  so 
many  advantages  over  the  one-room  rural  school. 
More  expert  teachers  may  be  had,  a  trained  super- 
intendent can  be  employed,  the  children  are  better 
graded  and  the  larger  classes  create  more  enthusi- 
asm in  study  and  recitation.  A  teacher  trained  in 
the  science  of  agriculture  can  be  secured  to  take 
charge  of  that  subject  and  of  the  school  garden. 
Centralized  schools,  besides  being  better  equipped 
in  every  way,  may  be  managed  more  economically 
in  one  building  which  requires  only  one  heating  sys- 
tem and  one  janitor.  And  all  this  is  possible  only 
when  the  roads  are  kept  in  good  condition. 

City  People  Interested.  City  people  also  demand 
good  country  roads  because  the  better  the  roads,  the 
more  easily  they  obtain  country  produce  and  the 
cheaper  it  is.  City  people  are  using  the  country 
roads  more  every  year  for  pleasure-driving  and  for 
automobiles.  It  is  said  that  automobiles,  because 
of  the  high  rate  of  speed  at  which  they  go,  do  more 
In  wpfir  out  the  roads  than  all  the  heavy  teaming 
of  the  farmers.  It  is  unjust  to  expect  the  farmers 
to  build  and  keep  the  roads  in  repair.  Moreover, 
the  cost  of  the  produce  that  the  farmer  takes  to 
market  concerns  the  people  in  the  city  that  consume 
it,  as  much  as  the  man  who  has  it  to  sell. 

Marketing  Farm  Produce.  More  than  two  hun- 
dred fifty  million  tons  of  freight  are  hauled  from 
farms  to  the  market  or  railway  stations  each  year. 
Counting  the  labor  of  men  and  horses,  the  wear  of 


COUNTRY  ROADS 


203 


A.     Typical  country  road  after  long  rainy  period. 


B.     A  concrete  road. 
Fig.  101.     A  fine  public  road  raises  the  value  of  farm  land, 

vehicles  and  harness,  it  costs  on  an  average  about 
twenty-three  cents  to  move  each  one  of  these  mil- 
lions of  tons  one  mile.  Railroads  haul  a  ton- of 
freight  for  long  distances  for  less  than  a  cent  a  mile. 
The  farmer's  distance  to'market  averages  nine  miles 
and  so  the  cost  of  hauling  a  ton  of  farm  produce  to 
market  averages  two  dollars  and  nine  cents.    Better 


204  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

roads  would  permit  larger  loads  to  be  hauled  in 
the  same  time  and  lighter  loads  in  much  less  time. 
(Fig.  102.) 

The  First  Expert  Road  Builders.  The  Romans 
were  the  first  to  solve  the  problem  of  how  to  build 
good  highways.  The  central  government  at  Rome 
built  all  the  roads  and  kept  them  up.  They  were 
made  of  stone  by  trained  experts,  and  in  so  solid 
a  manner  that,  though  the  surface  has  required  re- 
pair from  time  to  time,  the  stone  foundations  are 
as  good  to-day  as  when  they  were  built  two  thou- 
sand years  ago.  They  will  be  serviceable  for  cen- 
turies yet  to  come. 

Roads  Abroad  and  at  Home.  European  countries 
commonly  have  fine  roads  because  they  are  con- 
structed by  skilled  engineers  under  government 
service.  But  most  states  in  our  country  still  have 
their  roads  in  charge  of  county  officers  who  are  not 
skilled  in  road  building  and  who  serve  only  short 
terms,  giving  place  to  others  less  experienced  than 
themselves.  These  county  officers  are  perhaps  good 
business  men,  but  are  not  students  of  scientific  road 
construction;  consequently,  although  millions  of  dol- 
lars have  been  spent  on  American  country  roads, 
they  are  in  the  main  a  failure.     (Fig.  103.) 

Plantation  Mud  Pikes.  The  earliest  American 
roads  were  built  in  Virginia  and  led  from  the  plan- 
tations to  the  landings  on  the  rivers.  These  were 
simply  mud  roads  built  by  the  plantation  owners. 
Hogsheads  of  tobacco  were  fitted  with  a  pair  of 


COUNTRY  ROADS 


205 


Courtesy  of  the  National  Paving  Brick  Mfg.  Ass'n,  Cleveland,  Ohio 

Fig.  102.     A   brick  road  needs   but   little  care  or  repair  and  brings 
the  market  nearer. 

shafts  for  a  liorse  and  were  thus  rolled  along  these 
roads  to  the  river  landings  by  horse  power.  Sup- 
plies for  the  plantations  were  hauled  homeward  in 
rude  carts. 

Our  Early  Roads.  Save  the  Cumberland  road, 
our  national  Government  has  done  very  little  road 
building.  The  task  of  constructing  good  highways 
through  rough  and  hilly  sections  has  been  poorly 
done  and  at  great  expense.  In  the  early  days  many 
long  roads  were  made  and  paid  for  by  private  par- 
ties, who  then  made  every  one  who  wished  to  use 


206 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTUEE 


Fig.  103.     Every   township   should   own   a  steam  road  roller. 

them  pay  a  toll.    There  are  now  but  few  toll  roads. 

Working  Out  the  Road  Tax.  There  are  two  ways 
of  paying  road  taxes  used  in  different  parts  of  our 
land.  One  way  is  for  the  farmer  to  take  his  team 
and  work  on  the  road  long  enough  to  pay  for  the 
tax  levied  against  him.  This  method  is  a  failure, 
for  the  farmers  seldom  know  how  to  build  good 
roads  and  care  very  little  how  they  work  so  long 
as  they  put  in  their  time  and  get  back  to  their 
crops. 

A  Better  Way.  The  other  method  is  much  more 
satisfactory.  It  is  this:  Each  farmer  pays  his  road 
tax  in  cash  and  the  money  is  used  to  employ  men 
who  are  practiced  in  road  making.  Sometimes  a 
man  is  employed  the  year  round  to  prevent  the 


COUNTRY  ROADS 


207 


roads  from  getting  out  of  repair.  *^A  stitch  in  time 
saves  nine,''  and  so  it  is  with  a  shovelful  of  gravel. 
A  man  and  a  horse  and  cart  kept  busy  at  the  gravel 
pit  all  through  the  year  are  worth  many  times  more 
in  securing  good  roads  than  all  the  ^* working  out'* 
of  taxes. 

The  State's  Part.  Many  people  are  now  coming 
to  see  that  the  state  ought  to  keep  up  at  least  the 
main  roads  as  well  as  build  them.  This  will  insure 
the  employment  of  road  engineers,  and  it  will  be 
done  in  a  more  permanent  manner. 

Drainage.  It  is  useless  to  build  a  road  without 
first  providing  a  dry  roadbed.  Standing  water  and 
the  grinding  of  wagon  wheels  will  soon  reduce  any 


Fig.  104.     Grading   and  draining   are   essential   to   good  roads. 


208  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

road  to  a  quagmire.  •  The  first  step  towards  making 
permanent  roads  is  to  provide  permanent  drainage 
by  ditching  and  tiling  where  it  is  necessary.  (Fig. 
104.) 

Grading.  Next  in  importance  to  drainage  comes 
grading.  The  narrower  the  roadbed  the  easier  it 
is  to  keep  in  order,  because  water  will  not  so  readily 
collect  in  it,  but  roads  must  be  wide  enough  for 
teams  to  pass.  The  surface  should  be  slightly 
rounded  to  shed  water  quickly,  and  the  ruts  must 
be  filled  as  soon  as  they  appear.  Here  is  where 
the  care-taker  gets  in  his  best  work  by  preventing 
deep  ruts  from  forming  and  keeping  the  roadbed 
dry.     (Fig.  105.) 

Surfacing  Clay  Roads.  After  drainage  and  grad- 
ing comes  the  surfacing  of  the  road.  On  a  clay  road 
a  fairly  hard  and  inexpensive  surface  may  be  made 
by  thoroughly  mixing  gravel  with  the  clay.  This 
packs  well  and  makes  a  hard  surface,  so  if  the  mix- 
ture is  of  sufficient  thickness  the  road  will  bear 
heavy  traffic. 

Sand  Roads.  Sand  roads  may  be  greatly  im- 
proved by  surfacing  with  clay.  Sand  mixed  with 
clay  does  not  make  so  firm  a  roadbed  as  gravel  and 
clay,  but  it  makes  a  fairly  good  surface. 

Loam  Roads.  There  are  tens  of  thousands  of 
miles  of  loam  roads  in  the  Central  "West  and  these 
roads  are  almost  bottomless  in  wet  weather.  Loam 
takes  water  like  a  sponge,  and  on  such  roads  it  is 
not  an  uncommon   sight  to   see  an  empty  wagon 


COUNTRY  ROADS  209 

mired  and  abandoned.  Farmers  are  told  not  to  work 
their  fields  when  it  is  wet,  because  it  will  harden 
them  and  they  will  bake  afterward.  This  is  the  very 
reason  why  loam  roads  should  have  the  surface 
stirred  when  w^et.  Such  working  is  called  puddling. 
It  brings  the  soil  grains  in  closer  contact,  making 
a  harder  surface  than  before. 

The  Split-log  Drag.  The  tool  most  useful  for  pud- 
dling is  the  split-log  drag.  The  halves  of  the  log 
are  held  on  edge  a  few  feet  apart  by  rounds  inserted 
like  the  rounds  of  a  ladder.  This  drag  used  on 
muddy  roads  will  smear  or  puddle  the  surface, 
making  it  tough  and  hard.  By  lengthening  one 
chain  and  allowing  the  inner  end  of  the  drag  to  lag 
behind  as  it  is  drawn  along,  it  fills  up  the  ruts  and 
works  all  loose  material  toward  the  middle  of  the 
road.  This  gives  the  surface  a  rounded  shape  for 
good  drainage. 

Other  Aids  to  Good  Roads.  This  drag  is  very 
useful  on  dry  roads  also.  By  riding  on  the  outer  or 
ditch-end  of  the  drag  and  driving  once  on  either 
side  of  the  road,  the  ruts  are  filled  and  the  center 
made  higher.  There  should  be  a  law  requiring  all 
heavy  hauling  to  be  done  with  wide-tire  wagons 
only.  Wide  tires  pack  and  harden  the  road  like  a 
roller,  whereas  narrow  tires  cut  and  injure  the  road 
surface. 

Gravel  and  Shell  Surfacing.  Different  kinds  of 
materials  are  used  in  surfacing  roads.  When  suit- 
able gravel  can  be  found  it  will  make  an  excellent 


210 


ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTURE 


EiG.  105.       Grading  a  country  road. 


road.  In  communities  near  the  coast,  shells  from 
the  sea  are  often  used  to  surface  roads  and  with 
excellent  results. 

Stone  Roads.  Probably  the  most  popular  mate- 
rial is  broken  stone.  Stone-bedded  roads  are  said 
to  be  macadamized,  because  a  Scotch  engineer 
named  Macadam  was  the  first  to  use  and  urge  this 
kind  of  road. 

Thick  Roman  Roads.  The  old  Roman  roads  were 
surfaced  with  stone,  which  was  often  several  feet 
thick  and  thus  very  expensive.  Macadam  believed 
that  a  smaller  amount  of  stone  could  be  made  to 
serve  just  as  well,  and  he  urged  that  it  would  cost 
much  less.  The  world  has  come  to  see  the  correct- 
ness of  this  plan,  and  now  macadamized  roads  are 
found  everywhere. 


COUNTRY  ROADS 


211 


The  Macadam  Road.  In  order  to  build  a  mac- 
adam road,  the  roadbed  is  first  given  the  slope  de- 
sired, so  the  water  will  quickly  flow  to  the  side 
gutters.  After  this  the  bed  is  rolled  hard  with  a 
heavy  roller;  then  it  is  covered  with  a  layer  of 
coarse  stone  and  rolled  again.  Then  another  layer 
of  finer  crushed  rock  is  spread  on  top  and  rolled 
until  it  Avorks  in  between  the  pieces  of  the  coarser 
stone.  A  layer  of  still  finer  crushed  stone  or  sand 
is  next  spread  on  and  sprinkled  with  water,  after 
which  it  is  rolled  until  a  smooth,  hard  surface  is 
formed.    Such  roads  are  from  six  to  twelve  inches 


Ci-u.-tesy  of  thf  National  Paving  Brick  Mfg.  Ass'n.  Cleveland.  Ohio 

Fio.  106.     Laying  a  brick  roach 

thick.  They  cost  from  three  thousand  to  six  thou- 
sand dollars  per  mile,  but  intelligent  farmers  realize 
that  such  tax  money  is  well  invested. 


212  ELEMENTAKY  AGRICULTURE 

Brick  Roads.  It  is  said  that  the  best  road  mate- 
rial to  resist  the  wear  of  automobiles  is  brick.  Brick 
pavements  cost  considerably  more  than  the  macad- 
amized road,  but  they  are  more  satisfactory  in  many 
ways.  They  last  longer,  they  require  less  repair, 
and  they  are  not  so  dusty.  In  many  places,  as  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  the  brick  pavements  are  being  ex- 
tended from  the  .city  limits  to  the  county  line,  where 
the  adjoining  county  is  planning  to  take  it  up  and 
extend  the  road  to  other  cities.  (Figs.  101, 102,  106.) 

The  Draft  on  Different  Surfaces.  How  much  a 
team  can  pull  depends  upon  the  firmness  and 
smoothness  of  the  roadbed  and  the  grade.  A  load 
that  three  horses  can  just  pull  on  level,  hard  asphalt, 
would  require  seven  horses  on  smooth  block  pave- 
ment, fourteen  horses  on  cobblestone,  forty  horses 
on  an  ordinary  country  earth  road,  and  eighty  on 
a  sandy  road.    This  shows  the  need  of  hard  roads. 

QUESTIONS 

(1)  In  how  many  ways  do  good  roads  assist  the 
farmer?  (2)  How  do  they  encourage  sociability?  (3) 
What  effect  do  roads  have  upon  schools?  (4)  What 
advantages  have  centralized  schools  over  the  one-room 
country  school?  (5)  Why  are  city  people  interested 
in  good  roads?  (6)  Should  city  people  be  required  to 
pay  taxes  to  build  country  roads?  (7)  How  did  the 
Romans  build  such  fine  roads?  (8)  In  what  two  ways 
are  road  taxes  usually  paid?  (9)  Which  way  is  the  bet- 
ter, and  why?  (10)  What  is  an  inexpensive  way  to 
surface  a  clay  road?  a  sandy  road?  a  loam  road? 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
PRESERVING  FOODS 

Germs  which  Help  and  Hinder.  The  farmer's 
wife  has  her  problems  of  canning  fruits  and  pre- 
serving foods.  It  is  a  help  to  her  to  know  the  ene- 
mies she  must  fight  and  the  harm  they  do.  There 
are  three  living  organisms  that  will  cause  animal 
or  vegetable  matter  to  decay.  These  are  yeast, 
molds,  and  germs,  or  bacteria. 

The  Yeast  Plant.  In  order  to  grow,  the  yeast 
plant  must  have  warmth,  air,  moisture,  and  sugar. 
This  plant  grows  and  divides  into  two  plants,  and 
these  divide  again  and  so  on.  Thus  this  tiny  plant 
multiplies  amazingly  in  a  short  time.  It  will  grow 
in  fruit  juice  and  in  fruit  slightly  sweetened,  but  it 
will  not  grow  in  thick  sirups  or  preserves.  It  is 
easily  killed  by  a  high  or  low  temperature. 

Making  Bread.  A  small  amount  of  yeast  is  put 
in  the  dough  to  make  it  *^rise*'  for  bread.  When 
sugar  is  added,  the  plants  increase  in  great  numbers 
in  a  few  hours.  They  start  the  decay  of  the  mix- 
ture and  create  a  gas  which  forms  bubbles  through- 
out the  mass,  and  these  make  the  bread  rise.  When 
the  bread  is  baked  the  yeast  plant  is  killed  by  the 
heat,  and  the  gas  escapes. 

Mold.  Mold  is  spread  about  by  tiny  spores  or 
seeds  floating  in  the  air.     When  they  lodge  on  a 

213 


214  ELEMENTAKY  AGRICULTURE 

warm,  moist  surface,  such  as  foods,  they  readily 
germinate  and  spread  over  the  surface.  Molds  may 
be  destroyed  by  heating  to  a  high  temperature  for 
about  twenty  minutes.  Canned  and  preserved  fruits 
are  more  liable  to  be  injured  by  yeast  and  mold 
than  by  bacteria. 

Canning  Fruit.  The  important  things  to  remem- 
ber in  canning  and  preserving  are  to  keep  all  cook- 
ing utensils  clean  and  to  kill  all  germs.  This  we 
call  sterilizing.  The  kettles,  jars,  strainers,  covers, 
rubbers,  and  other  utensils  used  in  canning,  must 
be  scalded  to  kill  the  germs,  or  bacteria.  When 
all  germs  in  the  jars  and  fruit  are  killed,  the  cans 
are  sealed  while  hot  so  as  not  to  permit  other  germs 
from  the  air  to  enter.  If  live  germs  are  left  in 
canned  fruit,  a  gas  will  escape  which  means  that 
decay  or  decomposition  has  set  in,  and  the  food  has 
begun  to  spoil.  Foods  and  other  organic  matter 
will  not  decay  if  germs  are  kept  out. 

Bacteria.  Bacteria  multiply  rapidly  in  meat, 
milk,  and  legumes.  They  cannot  grow  without  the 
presence  of  water.  Dried  fruits  and  meats  will  keep 
because  there  is  no  water  in  which  the  germs  may 
grow.  Neither  can  bacteria  live  in  a  strong  solution 
of  common  salt.  That  is  why  we  salt  meat  to  pre- 
serve it. 

Smoking  Meats.  Meats  are  also  preserved  from 
germs  by  smoking.  Smoking  leaves  a  thin  coat  of 
creosote  on  the  surface  of  the  meat,  which  not  only 
kills  all  germs  but  gives  the  meat  a  good  flavor. 


PRESERVING  FOODS  215 

Certain  kinds  of  wood  smoke  give  the  best  flavor, 
though  any  wood  may  be  used  for  the  purpose. 

Cold  Storage.  Putting  foods  in  cold  storage  does 
not  kill  the  bacteria,  but  it  keeps  them  from  grow- 
ing and  multiplying.  As  soon  as  the  temperature 
rises,  they  begin  to  act  and  the  food  soon  spoils. 

Preserving  Fruits.  Sugar  is  used  somewhat  in 
curing  meats  and  very  extensively  in  preserving 
fruits.  When  fruits  are  cooked  for  a  long  time  the 
*^ boiling  down''  kills  all  germs  and  drives  off  the 
water  so  that  other  germs  can  not  grow. 

Souring  of  Milk.  It  is  also  germs  that  cause  milk 
to  sour.  The  air  contains  many  germs,  the  dust  of 
the  barn  is  full  of  them,  and  there  are  some  on  the 
milk  pail  and  on  the  hands  of  the  milker.  So  it  is 
impossible  to  keep  germs  from  milk.  All  milk  cans 
should  be  scalded  after  using  and,  if  possible,  placed 
in  the  sunlight,  which  is  a  powerful  enemy  of  germs, 

Bacteria  in  Butter  and  Cider.  Germs  or  bacteria 
make  butter  rancid.  This  can  be  prevented  by. 
working  out  of  the'butter  all  the  milk  and  water 
which  bacteria  need  to  thrive  and  by  thoroughly 
mixing  salt  into  it.  It  is  bacteria  that  makes  cider 
turn  sour  and  ferment.  The  solid,  slimy  mass  known 
as  the  ** mother  of  vinegar'*  is  merely  a  vast  colony 
of  bacteria.  Sweet  cider  makes  the  best  vinegar 
because  it  contains  more  sugar  for  the  bacteria  to 
work  upon.  The  process  of  making  vinegar  from 
new  cider  may  be  hastened  by  introducing  some 
** mother  of  vinegar." 


CHAPTER  XXV 
FARM  SANITATION 

Location  of  the  Farmhouse.  The  farmhouse 
should,  if  possible,  be  located  near  the  center  of  the 
farm  so  as  to  save  the  farmer's  time  in  going  to  and 
from  his  fields.  But  the  health  of  the  family  must 
have  first  consideration,  and  the  home  ought  to  be 
on  high,  well-drained  ground  away  from  marshes, 
swamps,  and  stagnant  ponds.  If  the  country  is 
hilly,  the  south  slope  may  be  chosen  for  the  house, 
because  it  is  somewhat  shielded  from  cold  north 
winds  and  because  the  south  slope  affords  more 
sunlight,  which  is  the  greatest  friend  of  health  and 
the  greatest  enemy  of  germs. 

Dry  Surroundings.  The  yard  should  be  graded 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  turn  all  surface  water  away 
from  the  house,  not  only  for  health's  sake,  but  for 
cleanliness,  as  mud  and  dampness  about  the  house 
make  the  task  of  cleaning,  fall  heavily  on  the  house- 
wife. Farmers  can  easily  learn  to  make  cement 
walks  to  connect  the  house  with  the  other  farm 
buildings.  Damp  cellars  cause  mildew,  and  the 
decay  of  vegetables  stored  there  sends  a  moldy,  dis- 
agreeable odor  over  the  whole  house.  The  cellar 
should  be  light  and  ventilated  by  open  windows, 
covered  in  summer  by  coarse  netting  to  keep  out 
flies  and  mosquitoes.    The  mosquito  that  carries  the 

216 


FARM  SANITATION  217 

malaria  germ  will  breed  in  any  damp  corner  of  the 
cellar  unless  it  is  screened. 

Shade.  Trees  are  very  desirable  about  the  home, 
but  they  should  not  be  so  dense  as  to  shut  out  sun- 
light, nor  should  they  be  too  close,  because  leaves 
will  fall  in  the  house  gutters. 

Water  Supply.  One  of  the  richest  blessings  of 
any  farm  is  good,  pure  drinking  water.  It  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  that  wells  are  carefully  covered 
over  and  that  no  surface  water  is  allowed  to  run 
in  over  the  unguarded  edges.  Surface  water  is  al- 
ways more  or  less  dangerous,  because  it  may  carry 
a  small  amount  of  sewage  which  contains  the  ty- 
phoid germ.  After  water  has  soaked  through  a  few 
feet  of  earth  it  is  said  to  be  filtered  and  free  from 
germs.  Every  well  or  cistern  should  be  provided 
with  a  modern  pump.  The  old-fashioned  bucket  is 
a  danger  to  health,  since  careless  people  drink  direct- 
ly from  it,  perhaps  leaving  disease  germs  in  the 
vessel  which  endanger  others;  Cistern  water  is 
more  liable  to  contain  disease  germs  than  that  from 
wells,  because  the  water  comes  from  house  gutters, 
where  in  dry  weather  many  germs  are  carried  by 
the  wind.  Although  many  of  these  are  killed  by  sun- 
light, those  that  escape  are  carried  into  the  cistern. 

Sewage  a  Source  of  Disease.  Surface  streams  are 
most  to  be  feared.  If  they  have  passed  close  to 
neighboring  houses  and  their  outbuildings,  the 
water  should  never  be  considered  drinkable  without 
having  first  been  boiled  or  filtered.     Water  may 


218  ELEMENTAEY  AGKICULTUEE 

look  clear  and  pure  and  yet  be  dangerous  to  health. 
The  thing  that  most  often  pollutes  water  supplies 
is  sewage.  Sewage  is  the  term  given  to  house  refuse 
such  as  grease,  soap,  and  human  waste.  It  has  in 
it  millions  of  microbes  or  bacteria,  some  of  which, 
if  taken  in  drinking  water,  cause  typhoid  fever, 
others  the  cholera.  Typhoid  is  one  of  the  leading 
causes  of  death  in  our  country,  and  it  is  caused  by 
drinking  water  or  milk  polluted  by  sewage. 

River  Water.  A  river  which  has  passed  many 
towns  in  its  course  is  not  a  safe  water  supply.  Eivers 
will  purify  themselves  if  the  water  is  allowed  to  run 
many  miles  without  receiving  a  fresh  supply  of 
sewage,  but  when  they  have  been  the  receiving  place 
for  the  sewage  of  many  cities  the  water  becomes  so 
laden  with  deadly  bacteria  that  epidemics  of  typhoid 
have  been  known  to  break  out  in  several  towns 
along  the  stream  at  the  same  time. 

Mosquitoes.  Mosquitoes  are  troublesome  and 
dangerous  pests  which  carry  the  germs  of  human 
disease.  Malaria  is  spread  by  mosquitoes,  and  in 
no  other  way.  The  malaria  microbes  are  taken  into 
the  system  of  the  mosquito  with  the  blood  sucked 
from  people  troubled  with  disease.  In  the  body  of 
the  mosquito,  the  malaria  microbe  undergoes  a 
change  that  is  necessary  to  its  life,  so  if  all  mos- 
quitoes were  destroyed,  malaria  microbes  could  not 
thrive  and  spread.  When  the  mosquito  attacks  a 
well  person,  some  of  the  microbes  pass  from  it  to 
the  human  system  as  the  insect  sucks  the  blood. 


FARM  SANITATION  219 

Yellow  fever  is  also  spread  by  a  certain  kind  of 
mosquito  which  is  common  in  our  Southern  states. 
By  destroying  the  water  breeding  places,  the  yellow 
fever  has  been  stamped  out  of  such  cities  as  New 
Orleans.  Mosquitoes  on  the  farm  may  be  disposed 
of  by  draining  pools  of  standing  water  so  the  pest 
cannot  multiply.  Large  ponds  may  be  covered  with 
oil  so  the  ^'wigglers^^  which  hatch  into  mosquitoes 
can  not  get  air  at  the  surface  of  the  water.  Barrels 
or  other  vessels  filled  with  water  must  be  emptied 
or  covered  with  oil. 

The  House  Fly.  The  eggs  of  flies  are  laid  in  wet, 
decaying  refuse,  such  as  manure,  slop,  dead  animals, 
garbage,  and  human  waste.  The  eggs  hatch  into 
maggots  which  feed  upon  these  materials  and  grow 
rapidly.  Then  they  cover  themselves  with  a  leather- 
like case  and  are  quiet  a  few  days,  after  which  they 
come  forth  as  full-grown  flies.  It  requires  only  a 
few  days  for  the  egg  to  grow  into  an  adult  fly.  A 
few  flies  live  through  the  winter,  and  these  start 
broods  in  the  early  spring.  By  the  end  of  summer 
there  are  flies  without  number. 

Flies  as  Disease  Carriers.  Flies  carry  upon  their 
feet  and  mouths  the  germs  of  disease.  They  visit 
all  sorts  of  filthy  places  to  lay  their  eggs  and  after- 
wards approach  our  kitchens  in  search  of  food,  and 
wherever  they  crawl  they  scatter  disease  germs. 
The  house  fly  has  been  called  the  typhoid  fly. 

Fighting  Flies.  There  are  two  ways  to  protect 
the  family  from  flies.    One  is  to  clean  up  all  garbage 


220 


ELEMENTAEY  AGRICULTURE 


piles  and  filth  where  flies  breed  and  to  sprinkle 
diluted  carbolic  acid  about  such  places  frequently. 
Carbolic  acid  drives  away  the  flies  and  kills  many 
typhoid  and  other  disease  gorms.  The  other  remedy 
is  to  screen  the    house  thoroughly,  especially   the 


Fig.   107.     A  sanitary  dairy  ham. 

kitchen  and  living  rooms.     No  house  is  complete 
until  it  is  fitted  with  screens. 

Milk  a  Germ  Carrier.  It  is  known  that  milk 
spreads  diphtheria  and  tuberculosis  as  well  as 
typhoid  fever.  The  typhoid  germs  are  in  the  water 
in  which  the  .cans  are  washed.  The  ceiling  of  the 
cow  stable  should  be  dust-proof  and  the  floor  ce- 
ment, so  it  may  be  washed  often.    Some  apparently 


FARxM  SANITATION  221 

healthy  cows  have  tuberculosis  and  in  many  places 
where  milk  is  sold  to  cities  the  cows  are  examined 
and  tested  for  this  disease. 

Ventilating  the  Barn.  The  average  barn  is  not 
very  tightly  built  and  plenty  of  air  enters  for  the 
stock  through  the  cracks,  but  the  newer  barns  are 
now  built  tight  and  warm,  and  in  this  case  some 
means  should  be  planned  to  ventilate,  because  bad 
air  is  the  cause  of  the  spread  of  tuberculosis  among 
cows  as  well  as  among  the  human  family.  Window 
ventilation  is  far  better  than  none,  but  the  cold  draft 
should  not  strike  the  cows  and  other  stock.  (Fig. 
107.) 

Cold  Air  Heavier  than  Warm.  Every  boy  and 
girl  knows  that  cold  air  is  heavier  than  warm  air 
and  so  the  warmest  air  in  the  room  is  always  near 
the  ceiling.  One  reason  smoke  goes  up  the  chimney 
is  because  it  is  carried  up  by  warm,  light  air,  while 
heavy,  cold  air  is  crowding  in  to  take  the  place  left 
by  the  warm  air. 

Best  Barn  Ventilation.  The  best  way  to  ventilate 
any  building,  home,  school,  or  barn  that  must  be 
kept  warm  is  to  take  out  the  colder  air  near  the 
floor  instead  of  the  warm  air  near  the  ceiling.  For 
this  purpose  there  should  be  an  air  shaft  leading 
from  near  the  floor  to  the  roof  to  carry  out  the  air. 

Home  Ventilation.  The  best  way  to  heat  and 
ventilate  a  home  is  probably  the  hot-water  system, 
placing  the  radiators  in  each  room  near  the  wall. 
Behind  each  radiator  is  an  opening  through  the 


222 


ELEMENTAKY  AGKICULTURE 


wall.  The  outside'  fresh  air  comes  in  through  the 
radiator  that  warms  it.  Beside  the  chimney  are 
air  vents  leading  from  points  near  the  floor  of  the 
room  to  the  attic.  The  cold  air  of  the  room  enters 
these  air  vents  near  the  floor  and  passes  to  the  attic, 
where  openings  lead  to  the  outside.  The  heat  of 
the  chimney  keeps  the  air  vents  warm,  causing  them 


Courtesy  of  the  Smith  Heating  Co. 
Fig.    108.     A    well-ventilated   country  school. 

to  draw  the  colder  air  out  of  the  room  like  another 
chimney.  The  hot  pipes  that  extend  to  radiators 
on  the  second  floor  might  be  arranged  to  extend  up 
the  other  air  vents,  heating  the  air  and  sucking 
the  cold  air  out  of  other  rooms.  Each  bedroom 
should  be  well  ventilated  either  by  an  air  vent  along 
the  chimney  or  by  an  open  window.  Bedrooms 
ought  never  to  be  less  than  ten  by  twelve  feet,  with 
a  ceiling  not  lower  than  eight  feet. 

School   Ventilation.     These    same   principles   of 
ventilation    apply    to    schoolhouses.      ^here    the 


FARM  SANITATION  223 

schools  are  consolidated  in  one  large  central  build- 
ing the  fan  system  to  drive  the  air  in  and  out  is 
the  best  in  use.  There  are  now  excellent  ways  of 
heating  and  ventilating  one-room  schools  without 
opening  windows,  and  no  country  schoolhouse  can 
afford  to  be  without  such  a  moderate  priced  bless- 
ing. (Fig.  108.)  The  illustration  sliows  a  heating 
and  ventilating  system  where  the  fresh  outside  air 
passes  in  near  the  furnace  and  is  warmed.  It  then 
circulates  as  the  arrows  indicate.  The  cold,  foul 
air  near  the  floor  is  drawn  out  by  the  opening  into 
a  separate  chimney  flue  at  the  floor  level.  The  best 
way  to  prevent  and  to  fight  tuberculosis,  either 
among  cows  or  human  beings,  is  with  plenty  of 
good,  fresh  fair.  Keeping  the  house  and  the  barn 
supplied  with  plenty  of  fresh  air  and  sunlight  is  the 
greatest  safeguard  to  health. 

School  Lighting.  The  only  perfect  way  of  light- 
ing a  schoolroom  is  from  the  top,  which  is  nature's 
plan.  (Fig.  109.)  The  children's  eyes  should  be 
protected  from  the  strong  light  from  side  windows, 
because  the  eye,  like  a  camera,  can  adjust  itself  to 
but  one  intensity  of  light  at  a  time.  The  strong 
glaring  windows  cause  the  pupil  of  the  eye  to  close 
so  much  as  to  make  all  objects  in  the  room  look  dim 
and  the  eyes  are  strained,  trying  to  see  clearly. 
The  only  way  to  secure  a  well-distributed,  even 
light  is  from  skylights,  and  country  schools,  being 
of  one  story,  can  easily  be  provided  with  them,  and 
the  protection  to  the  children's  eyes  justifies  the  cost. 


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CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  FARMER'S  COLLEGE 

Educating  the  Farmer.  When  the  farmers  have 
good  crops,  the  whole  country  is  happy,  and  business 
is  good.  A  crop  failure  not  only  harms  the  farmer, 
but  causes  the  wheels  of  industry  and  business  to 
stop,  and  the  result  is  hard  times.  Thus,  you  see, 
the  entire  country  is  interested  in  good  crops. 

The  United  States  Government  has  become  greatly 
concerned  about  the  farmer's  success  and  has  estab- 
lished a  college  for  farmers  called  the  Department 
of  Agriculture.  This  department  is  located  at 
Washington,  but  it  has  branches  in  every  state  in 
the  Union.  It  is  not  like  the  ordinary  college,  for 
farmers  cannot  leave  their  crops  and  stock  to  attend 
it.  The  Department  of  Agriculture  has  hundreds  of 
learned  men  studying  and  experimenting  all  the 
time.  They  are  finding  out  all  about  soils  and  farm 
crops,  about  animals,  their  care  and  diseases,  about 
])lants  and  their  enemies.  Everything  that  will  help 
the  farmer  to  raise  splendid  crops,  this  college  is 
learning  about.  And  they  will  send  out  to  any 
farmer  who  asks  for  it,  all  the  wonderful  knowledge 
that  has  been  discovered. 

Learning  the  Best  Way.  Now,  instead  of  guess- 
ing at  what  is  best  to  do,  or  depending  upon  the 
advice  of  a  neighboring  farmer,  who  may  be  even 

225 


226  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

more  ignorant  than  ourselves,  we  ,can  just  drop  a 
one-cent  post  ,card  in  the  mail  box  or  post  office 
addressed  like  this; 

The  Department*  of  Agriculture, 
Washington, 

D.  C. 
We  may  ask  about  any  crop,  or  about  soils  and  till- 
age, or  about  farm  stock  and  how  to  raise  and  feed 
them,  or  how  to  destroy  insects.  In  a  few  days 
comes  a  little  booklet  to  us  with  all  the  latest  knowl- 
edge about  the  things  we  are  interested  in.  This 
college,  or  department,  will  even  advise  about  farm 
buildings,  farm  machinery,  poultry,  and  many  kinds 
of  wild  game.  If  you  are  planning  to  build  a  hen- 
house, you  had  better  learn  the  best  way,  as  it  costs 
nothing  to  find  out.  For  some  of  these  thousands 
of  booklets,  prepared  for  the  help  of  the  farmer,  a 
small  price  of  ten  or  fifteen  cents  is  asked,  but  the 
most  of  them  are  free.  What  a  wonderful  thing  it 
is  to  have  a  real  education  in  farming!  The  Gov- 
ernment is  spending  millions  of  dollars  each  year 
to  help  the  farmer,  and  thousands  of  intelligent 
farmers  and  their  boys  are  becoming  students  of 
agriculture. 

Not  only  will  this  department  help  the  farmer 
and  his  sons  with  their  problems,  but  the  farmer's 
wife  and  daughters  can  get  advice  about  milk,  but- 
ter, and  cheese,  about  canning  fruit  and  how  to 
preserve  food,  and  about  many  other  problems  of 
the  farm  home. 


THE  FARMER'S  COLLEGE 


227 


Experiment  Stations.  Besides  the  Department  at 
Washington,  every  state  has  experiment  stations 
where  learned  men  are  making  tests  of  crops,  ani- 
mals, and  whatever  the  farmers  of  that  particular 
state  may  wish  to  know.  These  experiment  stations 
are  also  kept  up  with  tax  money,  and  the  farmers 


Fig.  110.     College  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Wisconsin. 

have  a  right  to  the  knowledge  and  discoveries  made 
here.  Booklets  from  the  experiment  stations  are 
mailed  free  to  any  one  engaged  in  farming.  Should 
a  disease  of  animals  or  plants  suddenly  break  out 
in  some  community,  a  man  will  be  sent  upon  request 
from  the  experin^ent  station  to  advise  and  show  the 
farmers  how  to  fight  the  trouble.  The  farmers  of 
Dakota  have  gained  ten  millions  of  dollars  through 
the  secrets  learned  at  the  experiment  station  about 
grain.    We  have  learned  that  the  Babcock  test  has 


228  ELEMENTARY  AGEICULTUEE 

changed  the  dairy  industry  of  the  whole  world.  Dr. 
Babcock  is  one  of  the  ,clever  men  who  has  spent  his 
life  helping  to  solve  the  farmer's  problems  in  the 
Wisconsin  Experiment  Station. 

Colleges  of  Agriculture.  If  a  boy  is  plucky  he 
will  gain  much  useful  knowledge  about  farming 
from  these  booklets.  But  every  state  also  has  its 
school  of  agriculture,  a  real  college  where  farmers' 
sons  gather  by  the  hundreds  to  study  the  problems 
of  the  farm  (Fig.  110).  Every  young  man  who  is 
looking  forward  to  the  farmer's  life  should  resolve 
to  take  a  course  in  such  a  college,  even  if  it  is  only 
for  a  few  months  in  winter.  The  farmer  of  the 
future  will  have  to  know  more  than  those  of  the  past 
in  order  to  be  successful.  So  one  had  best  prepare 
well  by  taking  a  full  course.  If,  however,  a  boy 
cannot  be  spared  from  the  farm  so  long,  o^  if  he 
has  not  the  funds  to  pay  his  way  through  a  long 
course,  there  are  shorter  courses  for  him.  Many 
wise  farmers,  who  need  their  sons  through  the  crop 
season,  are  sending  them  to  some  College  of  Agricul- 
ture year  after  year  for  the  winter  terms,  when  they 
can  be  spared  from  the  farm.  A  few  winters  spent 
in  this  way  will  open  the  boy's  eyes  to  many  inter- 
esting and  important  secrets  of  success.  He  will 
then  no  longer  wish  to  leave  the^  farm.  The  farm 
offers  a  delightful  place  on  which  to  live,  but  in 
order  to  be  successful  one  must  have  good  training 
and  good  judgment.  These,  with  industry,  will 
bring  happiness  and  prosperity. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

BOYS ^  AND  GIRLS'  CLUBS 

More  Food  Needed.  The  population  of  our  coun- 
try is  increasing  very  rapidly,  much  faster  than  the 
production  of  food;  and  so  the  cost  of  everything 
we  eat  is  a  great  deal  higher  than  formerly.  Every 
citizen  is,  therefore,  interested  in  increasing  the 
farmer's  crops  by  methods  of  scientific  agriculture. 
Not  only  are  the  farmers  anxious  to  improve  crops, 
but  business  men,  journalists,  and  statesmen  are  all 
helping  along  the  movement.  People  are  realizing 
more  and  more  how  closely  their  living,  their  pros- 
perity, and  their  business  success  are  linked  with  the 
work  of  the  farmer  who  produces  the  nation's  food. 

The  Whole  Country  Interested.  Not  only  are 
farm  journals  teeming  with  suggestions  and  advice, 
but  magazines  and  newspapers  of  all  descriptions 
are  spreading  the  great  truths  of  scientific  tillage 
and  stock-raising.  Business  men's  clubs  are  offer- 
ing prizes  to  boys  for  the  best  acre  crops,  and  the 
champion  corn  raisers  are  getting  large  money 
prizes  and  often  splendid  trips  to  the  state  or 
nation's  capital  with  all  expenses  paid.  President 
Roosevelt  during  his  term  of  office  appointed  a  com- 
mission consisting  of  eminent  men  to  study  country 
life  and  make  such  recommendations  as  seemed  wise 
to  them. 

229 


230  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

Agriculture  in  Schools.  The  principles  of  agri- 
culture are  rapidly  being  introduced  into  tlie  rural 
schools  as  part  of  the  course  of  study.  Thirteen 
states  now  require  the  teaching  of  agriculture  in 
the  common  schools.  It  is  also  encouraged  and 
taught  in  thirty-one  other  states,  which  have  not 
as  yet  required  it  by  law.  This  makes  in  all  forty- 
four  states  where  agriculture  is  being  taught  in  some 
measure.  Many  city  schools  are  also  attempting 
some  work  in  connection  with  school  gardens. 
(Fig.  97.) 

Field  Agents.  The  Department  of  Agriculture 
has  been  studying  and  investigating  for  a  long  time, 
and  they  have  been  sending  out  millions  of  copies 
of  pamphlets  to  any  one  asking  for  them.  But 
since  so  many  farmers  are  not  alive  to  their  need 
for  instruction  and  are  not  reading  these  pamphlets, 
the  Department  is  now  sending  out  expert  men  as 
field  agents  (Fig.  Ill)  to  meet  the  farmers  and  to 
encourage  them  to  form  for  their  own  improvement 
such  organizations  as  cow-testing  associations  and 
the  like.  For  boys  there  are  Cotton  Clubs,  Corn 
Clubs,  and  numerous  others;  while  for  girls  there 
are  such  organizations  as  the  Girls'  Garden  Clubs 
and  Tomato  Canning  Clubs.    (Fig.  112.) 

Club  Movement  Spreads.  The  club  movement 
among  country  boys  and  girls  has  grown  in  a  re- 
markable way.  In  every  section  of  the  country 
there  are  club  members  doing  the  regular  club 
work  of  raising  a  crop  under  the  special  instructions 


BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'  CLUBS  231 

furnished  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  Aside 
from  the  clubs  already  mentioned  are  Good  Eoads 
Clubs,  Poultry  Clubs,  Vegetable  Garden  Clubs,  Sugar 
Beet  Clubs,  and  Father  and  Son  Clubs. 

Boys*  Corn  Clubs.     The  Corn  Club  idea  started 
in  the  South  in  this  way.     The  boys  of  a  county 


'""'^'iH! 

m   .^ 

IK./ 

v4f:--.  ■ifr                 1 

*^^4^ 

n^^^^^^HR^ 

Courtesy  of  U.  &.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

VlQ.  IIL     A  specialist  in  charge  of  National  Club  work,  conducting  a 
school  of  instruction  in  home  and  school  canning  methods, 

were  invited  to  join  such  a  club  and  were  assisted 
in  forming  the  organization.  During  the  winter  they 
lield  meetings  and  studied  the  pamphlets  received 
from  the  Department  at  Washington.  These  gave 
them  information  about  selecting  seed  and  fertilizer, 
and  how  to  plant,  cultivate,  and  harvest  the  crop. 


232 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

Fig.  112.     Tlay  and  contest  a  part  of  the  game  in  National  club  worTc. 

(Grading:   Skill,  30%;  speed,  30%;  iveigJit  of 

peeling,  40%;  Total,  100%.) 

In  the  early  spring  the  boys  selected  seed  and  tested 
its  power  to  grow,  or  germinate,  by  taking  a  few 
kernels  from  each  ear  of  seed  corn. 

The  Crop.  Then  each  boy  was  allowed  an  acre 
of  ground  and  expected  to  keep  a  careful  account 
of  the  money  spent  on  his  crop  in  labor  and  fer- 
tilizer. Even  when  he  did  the  work  himself  he 
charged  ten  cents  an  hour  against  his  crop  and  five 
cents  an  hour  for  each  horse  used.  The  rental  value 
of  the  land  was  placed  at  $5  per  acre  and  that,  too, 
was  charged  against  his  crop,  while  for  each  load 
of  manure  another  $2  was  charged. 

Net  Profit.  When  the  crop  was  sold,  the  lad 
deducted  from  the  amount  of  money  he  received  for 


BOYS'  AND  GIELS'  CLUBS 


233 


it,  all  the  cost  of  raising,  which  included  labor,  fer- 
tilizer, and  other  expenses.  What  was  left  after 
this  subtraction  was  clear  gain  or  net  profit,  as 
business  men  call  it. 

Growth  of  Corn  Clubs.  Corn  Clubs  have  been 
organized  in  large  numbers  in  the  Southern  and 
Central  states,  and  they  are  doing  a  splendid  work 
for  every  county  in  which  they  are  found.  The  boys 
are  opening  the  eyes  of  their  parents  and  neighbors 
to  the  wonderful  in- 
crease in  the  crop 
when  some  attention 
is  given  to  scientific 
culture.    (Fig.  113.) 

The  1912  Crop. 
During  one  season 
the  average  yield 
of  all  the  Corn 
Club  members  who 
reported  to  the  Of- 
fice of  Farm  Man- 
agement w^as  74.5 
bushels  per  acre. 
Fifteen  club  mem- 
bers made  a  yield 
of  140  or  more 
bushels  per  acre. 
Sixty-one  boys  made  over  120  bushels  an  acre.  The 
average  net  profit  an  acre  of  all  club  members 
reporting  was  $25.55. 


Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

Fig.  113.     A    Wisconsin   cJuh    winner 
and  his  prize  bushel  of  seed  corn. 


234  ELEMENT AKY  AGRICULTUKE 

Illinois.  The  average  yield  of  Corn  Club  mem- 
bers from  Illinois  was  79  bushels  per  acre,  but  • 
eighty- six  members  made  over  100  bushels  an  acre. 
There  were  more  than  5,000  members  in  that  state 
alone  and  $2,000  was  given  out  as  premiums  to  the 
high  score  boys. 

Indiana,  Kentucky,  and  Ohio.  Indiana,  with  3,000 
members,  grew  an  average  of  78  bushels  per  acre. 
It  is  said  that  the  work  of  the  club  members  in 
Kentucky  contributed  $10,000,000  to  the  wealth  ol 
that  state.  One  boy  in  "West  Virginia  grew  140 
bushels,  while  four  others  raised  120  bushels  or 
more.  Ohio  members  who  reported  averaged  94% 
bushels  per  acre. 

Father  and  Son  Clubs.  In  Kentucky  there  are 
many  Father  and  Son  Clubs  in  which  the  father 
raises  ten  acres  of  corn  alongside  the  son's  one  acre, 
and  both  follow  the  same  careful  instructions  in 
selecting  seed,  planting,  and  cultivating.  The  cham- 
pion father  and  son  of  that  state  one  year  were 
Herman  Gallrein  and  his  son,  Edward  G.  Gallrein, 
aged  fourteen.  The  son  raised  146  bushels  and  36 
pounds  of  white  ,corn  on  his  acre  and  his  clear  profit 
was  $67.32.  The  father  grew  ten  acr,es  of  the  same 
kind  of  corn  on  land  adjoining  the  boy^s  one  acre; 
and  his  average  per  acre  was  139  bushels  and  45 
pounds,  which  brought  a  net  profit  of  $69.91  per 
acrec  Both  cultivated  their  crops  eight  times,  the 
first  being  a  rather  deep  cultivation,  while  the  seven 
others  were  shallow. 


BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'  CLUBS  235 

Potato  Clubs.  Cumberland  County  in  East  Ten- 
nessee has  a  sclioolboys'  Potato  Club,  that  has 
taught  the  farmers  of  that  section  an  important  les- 
son. It  had  been  supposed  that  potatoes  were  not 
a  profitable  crop  in  that  state.  It  was  claimed  that 
tlie  cost  of  raising  an  acre  of  potatoes  there,  includ- 


Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 

Fig.  114.     Idaho  hoys  and  girls  receiving  field  instructions  on 
the  diseases  of  the  potato. 

ing  labor,  fertilizer,  and  the  rent  of  the  land,  was 
about  $75  per  acre,  while  the  crops  raised  hitherto 
at  the  rate  of  fifty  .cents  a  bushel  brought  a  return 
of  only  $40  an  acre.  But  the  Boys'  Potato  Club  told 
a  different  story.  One  lad  raised  on  one  acre  384 
bushels  and  his  net  profit  was  $78.  Another  boy 
raised  379  bushels  which  gave  him  a  net  gain  of 


236  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

$111.  Each  of  these  lads  received  a  $40  prize.  Tiiere 
will  now  be  more  attention  given  to  potato  raising 
in  East  Tennessee.     (Fig.  114.) 

Tomato  Canning  Clubs.  The  Girls'  Canning 
Clubs  are  also  doing  splendid  work  in  many  coun- 
ties, especially  in  the  Southern  states.  They  are 
usually  organized  by  women  field  agents  from  the 
Department  at  Washington.  Each  club  member 
receives  instructions  about  growing  and  canning 
vegetables,  especially  tomatoes.  (Fig.  115.)  They 
are  learning  to  can  this  vegetable  so  it  will,  keep; 
they  are  learning  to  make  excellent  catchup,  chow- 
chow,  chili-sauce,  and  other  relishes.  Many  fine 
recipes  are  sent  to  them  from  Washington.  They 
are  also  taught  how  to  market  their  goods  to  the 
best  advantage. 

Girls'  Profits.  A  Virginia  girl  who  made  the  best 
record  for  high  yield  in  tomatoes  one  year  obtained 
5,928  pounds  of  tomatoes  from  her  tenth  of  an  acre 
plot  in  that  season.  Many  girls  have  made  a  profit 
of  over  $100  from  their  tenth-acre  plots  with  one 
crop.  One  Mississippi  girl  is  paying  her  way 
through  the  State  Normal  School  by  canning  work. 

Prize  Winning  Girls  in  Washington.  During  the 
early  days  of  this  movement,  fifteen  girls,  one  from 
each  of  the  Southern  states,  had  a  free  trip  to 
Washington  as  a  prize  for  high  class  work  in 
tomato  canning.  They  were  the  fortunate  winners 
from  25,000  girls  who  were  enrolled  in  the  canning 
clubs  during  that  year.    The  prizes  and  trips  are  not 


BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'  CLUBS 


237 


furnished  by  the  Government,  but  by  public  spirited 
people, — bankers,  business  men's  organizations,  and 
women's  clubs. 

Seeing  the  President.  For  several  years  the  state 
champion  corn  raisers  have  had  the  free  trip  to 
Washington.  The  winners  of  the  several  counties 
had  their  exhibits  displayed  at  the  county  fairs, 


Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 
Fig.  115.     An  Ohio  girl  in  her  Tomato  Cluh  plot. 


and  the  county  winners  were  met  by  the  state  gov- 
ernor and  the  high  score  boys  were  sent  off  with 
much  applause  to  the  nation's  capital.  They  have 
usually  visited  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  and 
called  on  the  President  at  the  White  House.  They 
have  been  everywhere  treated  as  distinguished  vis- 
itors.   On  one  occasion  they  wero  invited  to  meet 


238  ELEMENTAKY  AGEICULTUEE 

the  Committee  on  Agriculture  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, and  the  chairman  of  that  committee 
declared  the  boys'  and  girls'  clubs  movement  to  be 
the  best  work  the  Department  of  Agriculture  had 
ever  attempted. 

Getting  Information.     It  is  impossible  in  this 
short  chapter  to  give  all  the  information  necessary 
to  form  any  club,  but  all  one  wishes  to  know  may 
be   obtained  from:     Office   of  Farm  Management," 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  Club  and  School.  These  clubs  are  the  very 
best  way  of  connecting  the  work  of  the  country 
schools  and  the  farm  home.  Parents  and  teachers 
are  working  together  in  this  movement.  Since  the 
teacher  is  likely  to  be  crowded  with  her  work  of 
teaching  reading,  arithmetic,  and  the  other  impor- 
tant subjects  that  the  children  must  know,  she  can- 
not do  very  much  experimenting  in  school  hours  in 
the  way  of  agriculture.  So  the  club  which  meets 
after  school,  in  the  evenings  or  on  Saturdays,  is  the 
best  means  of  teaching  good  practice  in  agriculture 
and  home  canning.  In  this  way  the  entire  neighbor- 
hood is  receiving  instruction.  Our  Government  real- 
izes that  the  future  of  American  agriculture  is 
largely  dependent  on  the  boys  and  girls  of  to-day, 
and  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  club  movement  to  assist 
in  instructing  and  directing  the  youth  of  our  vil- 
lages and  rural  communities  so  that  they  will  appre- 
ciate the  fact  that  farming  is  a  dignified,  important, 
and  profitable  life  work. 


PART  III 
APPENDIX 


EXERCISES— PROBLEMS— EXPERIMENTS 

THE  HORSE 
(Chapter  1) 


Fig.  IIG.  Diagram  oj  a  Horse 

1,  Neck;  2,  Withers;  S,  Back;  4,  Ijoin  5,  Hip;  6,  Dock;  7,  Gaskin;  8, 
Quarter;  9,  Stifle;,  10  Thigh;  11,  Hock;  12,  Flank;  13,  Belly;  U, 
Ribs;  15,  Chest;  16,  Wart;  17,  Hoof;  18,  Pastern;  19,  Fetlock;  20, 
Cannon-bone;  21,  Knee;  22,  Arm;  23,  Forearm;  24,  Breast;  25,  Shotd- 
der;  26,  Throat 


1.  Copy  the  above  figure. 

2.  Close  your  book  and  name  the  parts  of  the  horse. 

3.  If  possible,  have  a  horse  brought  to  the  school 
grounds  and  have  a  contest  in  naming  the  parts  of  his 
body. 

241 


242 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


4.  (a)  Make  a  study  of  the  horses  of  your  neighbor- 
hood,    (b)  How  many  on  each  farm?     (c)  What  breed? 

(d)  How  many  farmers  have  horses  from  blooded  stock? 

(e)  Show  what  the  increase  of  profits  might  be  from 
breeding  from  pure  bred  sires  over  grade  sires,  (f) 
Make  a  list  of  the  most  common  defects  of  horses,  (g) 
Watch  for  them  along  the  road. 

5.  Observe  a  number  of  horses  to  see  if  they  have 
properly  shaped  legs.  Note  the  proper  forms  in  the  illus- 
trations below. 


Fig.  117.    Front  Legs 


Fig.  118.     Hind  Legs 


6.  If  a  horse  *s  steady  pulling  power  is  1/10  of  his 
weight,  what  is  the  steady  pulling  power  of  a  team  weigh- 
ing 2,800  lbs? 

7.  The  draught  of  a  loaded  wagon  varies  with  dif- 


APPENDIX 


243 


ferent  road  surfaces  and  according  to  the  width  of  the 
tire  and  the  height  of  the  wheels.  The  draught  on  hard, 
level  dirt  roads  with  high-wheeled  wagons  was  found  by- 
test  to  be  69  lbs.  per  ton  of  load.  How  many  tons  could 
two  1,500  lb.  horses  draw  steadily  on  such  roads  if  the 
pulling  power  of  each  horse  was  1/10  of  his  weight  ?  Ans. 
— 4.35  tons. 

8.  The  draught  of  the  same  wagon  on  gravel  roads 
with  one  inch  of  sand  on  top  was  85  lbs.  per  ton  of  load. 
How  many  tons  could  the  same  team  draw  steadily  over 
such  roads  pulling  as  in  Exercise  5?    Ans. — 3.5  tons. 

9.  The  draught  of  the  same  wagon  on  wet  sod  land 
was  170  lbs.  per  ton  load.  How  much  could  the  same 
team,  pulling  as  in  above  exercise,  draw  over  such 
ground?    Ans. — 1.76  tons. 

10.  Copy  the  drawings  below.  Examine  horses  until 
you  find  the  wide  and  the  narrow  hock. 


Fk;.     119.     Wide     Hock. 
This  fiorse    endures   great    labor 
with  little  fatigue. 


P'iG.  120.     Narrow  Hock. 
This  horse  is  easily  fatigued. 


244  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

11.  Send  to  the  Agricultural  College  of  your  state  for 
score  cards  for  judging  horses.  Ask  some  farmer  who  is 
a  good  judge  of  horses  to  appear  at  school  with  a  horse 
and  assist  you  in  this  matter. 

12.  Train  for  contest  in  knot-tying.  See  Pages  12-13. 
Send  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers*  bulletins:  Principles 
of  Horse  Breeding,  No.  170;  Horse  Shoeing,  No.  179. 
Farmers'  bulletins  are  mailed  without  charge. 


CATTLE 

(Chapter  2) 


Fig.  121  Diagram  of  a  Cow 

I,  Muzzle;  2,  Nostrils;  S,  Fore-head;  4,  Neck;  5,  Withers,  6,  Back; 
7,Lmn;  8,  Finbone;  9,  Rump;  10,  Hips;  11,  Tail;  12,  Quarters;  IS, 
Thigh;  14,  Cannon;  15,  Fetlock;  16,  Flank;  17,  Udder;  18,  Milk  Veins; 
19,  Belly;  20,  Ribs;  21,  Shoulder;  22,  Fore  Arm;  23,  Knee;  24,  Past- 
em;  25,  Brisket;  26,  Chest;  27,  Throat: 

1.  Copy  the  above  illustratioh; 

2.  Close  your  book  and  name  the  parts  of  the  cow 
from  your  drawing.  i"  ,\ 

3.  Study  the  markings  of  different  breeds  and  learn 
to  name  them  at  sight. 

4.  Do  your  state  laws  require  the  tuberculin  test  for 
dairy  herds?    Have  the  herds  in  your  neighborhood  had 

245 


246 


ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


the   test?     What   are   the   symptoms   of  tuberculosis   in 
cows? 

5.  Is  your  barn  kept  light,  clean,  and  well  ventilated  ? 

6.  Ask  some  farmer  who  is  a  good  judge  of  cattle  to 
show  the  class  how  to  judge  a  fat  steer  or  a  dairy  cow. 
Send  to  your  state  agricultural  college  for  score  cards 
for  judging  beef  and  dairy  cattle. 

7.  •  Learn  the  parts  or  cuts  of  a  side  of  beef  as  given 
in  the  illustration. 


Fig.  122.  A  Side  of  Beef 

1,  Leg;  2,  Mouse  Buttock;  3,  Rump;  4,  Round;  5,  Sirloin,6,  Veiny 
Piece;  7,  Porterhouse  {including  tenderloin);  8,  Thick  Flank;  9,  Fore 
Rib;  10,  Thin  Flank;  11,  Brisket;  12,  Middle  Rib;  13,  Chuck  Rib; 
14,  Shoulder;  15,  Clod;  16,  Shin;  17,  Neck,  or  sticking-piece. 


APPENDIX 


247 


The  Babcock  Milk  Test 
8.     The  value  of  a  dairy  cow  may  be  known  from  two 
factors:     (1)  the  amount  of  milk  given  and  (2)  its  rich- 
ness in  butter-fat.     The  amount  of  milk  is  determined  by 
weighing,  while  the  butter-fat  may  be  found  from  the 
Babcock  test.    Have  some  pupil  bring  a  sample  of  milk 
taken  immediately  after  the  milking  is  done  and  after 
the  milk  has  been  poured  two  or  three  times  from  one 
vessel  to  another  so  as  to  mix  it  thoroughly. 
For  testing  butter-fat  you  need  the  following: 
(a)     A  Babcock  Tester, 

Two  or  three  milk  test-bottles, 
A  pipette  to  measure  the  milk, 
A  small  glass  measure  for  acid, 
A  pint  bottle  of  Sulphuric  Acid, 
Hot  water, 
A  few  ounces  of  milk  to  be  tested. 


(b) 
(c) 
(d) 
(e) 
(f) 
(g) 


Fio.  123.     A  Babcock  MiXk  Tester 

[Equipment  may  be  obtained  from  a.  flanaoan  company,  Chicago. 
Four  Bottle  Milk  Tester,  $.5.00.  Four  Bottle  Milk  and  Cream  Tester, 
$5.50.    Weight  boxed,  10  lbs.    Traasportation  charges  additional.] 


248  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

Follow  these  directions  carefully : 

(a)  Stir  milk  thoroughly  before  taking  sample.  This 
is  best  done  by  pouring  milk  gently  back  and  forth  sev- 
eral times  between  two  vessels  so  the  cream,  or  fat  is 
evenly  mixed. 

(b)  With  the  small  end  of  a  pipette  suck  up  the  milk 
above  the  mark  on  the  tube.  Then  close  upper  end  with 
your  forefinger,  releasing  finger  slowly  to  allow  the  milk 
to  fall  until  it  stands  just  even  with  the  mark  17.6  cc, 
being  careful  to  hold  the  pipette  straight  up  and  down. 

(c)  Empty  the  pipette  into  the  test  bottle  and  blow 
to  drive  out  all  the  milk. 

(d)  Fill  the  acid  measure  with  sulphuric  acid  to  the 
mark  shown  and  put  this  into  the  test  bottle  with  the 
milk.  Remember  the  acid  must  be  handled  with  care.  If 
any  gets  on  hands  or  clothing  it  should  be  washed  off 
quickly  with  water. 

(e)  Shake  the  bottle  to  mix  milk  and  acid  thoroughly. 

(f)  Place  bottles  (several  tests  may  be  made  at  once) 
in  the  machine  and  whirl  five  minutes.  The  bottles 
should  be  hot  when  whirled;  they  may  be  placed  in  hot 
water  before  being  used.  For  whirling  place  boJ:tles  op- 
posite one  another  in  the  machine  to  keep  balance. 

(g)  With  pipette  or  other  means  add  hot  water  to 
each  bottle  until  filled  to  the  bottom  of  the  neck  and 
whirl  two  minutes. 

(h)  Add  more  hot  water  to  bring  the  contents  nearly 
to  the  top  of  the  marks  on  the  neck  of  the  bottle,  and 
again  whirl  one  minute. 

(i)  Hold  bottle  upright  on  a  level  with  the  eye  and 
read  the  marks  at  the  extreme  top  and  bottom  of  the  fat 


APPENDIX  249 

column.  The  difference  between  these  readings  is  the 
percentage  of  fat  in  the  milk.  There  are  five  small  spaces 
between  each  two  of  the  per  cent  marks.  Each  small  space 
represents  .2^{ .  Thus,  if  the  fat  column  runs  even  with 
the  fourth  short  mark  above  7,  its  reading  would  be  7.8%. 
(j)     Empty  and  wash  test  bottles. 

9.  The  test  will  show  the  per  cent  of  butter-fat.  It 
should  run  between  three  per  cent  in  poor  dairy  cows  and 
six  or  seven  per  cent  in  very  fine  dairy  stock.  To  find 
the  amount  of  butter-fat  in  a  gallon  of  milk,  multiply 
814  lbs.  by  the  per  cent  found  in  the  test.  (Milk  varies 
in  weight  according  to  the  amount  of  butter-fat.) 

10.  How  many  pounds  of  butter-fat  in  4,000  lbs.  of 
milk  that  tests  4%  ? 

11.  How  much  less  butter-fat  if  the  milk  tests  3%  ? 

12.  A  cow  gives  an  average  of  18  lbs.  of  4%  milk  per 
day  for  300  days  each  year.  What  income  does  she  yield 
annually  with  butter-fat  at  25  cents  a  pound? 

13.  A  dairy  farmer  has  two  cows  each  producing 
6,000  lbs.  of  milk  a  year.  The  Babcock  test  shows  the 
milk  of  one  cow  to  contain  3%,  and  the  other  6l^%  of 
butter-fat.  What  is  the  difference  in  income  from  the 
two  cows  when  butter-fat  averages  27  cents  a  pound? 

14.  A  certain  farmer  kept  ten  pure  bred  Guernseys, 
each  of  which  produced  daily,  30  lbs.  of  6%  milk.  The 
production  of  this  herd  always  declined  during  July  and 
August  on  account  of  flies  to  an  average  of  25  lbs.  daily. 
By  spraying  his  herd  regularly  to  ward  off  flics  the 
farmer  kept  the  herd  up  to  its  daily  amount  of  30  lbs. 
What  was  the  money  saved  in  the  two  summer  months 
by  spraying  when  butter-fat  was  22  cents  a  pound? 


250  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

Send  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers '  bulletins :  Some  Essen- 
tials in  Beef  Production,  No.  71;  Dehorning  of  Cattle, 
No.  350;  Exterminating  the  Texas  Fever  Tick,  No.  498; 
The  Babcock  Milk  Test. 


MILK  AND  BUTTER 

(Chapter  3) 

1.  Fat  ahd  Butter.  The  churn  collects  fat  globules 
into  butter,  which  is  then  worked  and  salted.  Thus  there 
is  left  in  the  butter  some  water,  salt,  milk,  sugar,  and 
casein.  So  the  fat  when  churned  and  made  into  butter 
produces  1/6  more  butter  by  weight  than  the  fat  con- 
tent of  the  milk  or  cream.  Add  1/6  of  the  weight  of  the 
butter-fat  to  the  butter-fat  to  find  the  weight  of  the  butter. 

2.  From  360  lbs.  of  butter-fat,  how  many  pounds  of 
butter  can  be  made?     Ans. —  420  lbs. 

3.  If  2  cents  a  pound  would  cover  the  expense  of  mak- 
ing butter,  would  it  ^  pay  better  to  sell  butter-fat  to  the 
creamery  at  23  cents  a  pound  or  to  make  it  into  butter 
and  sell  it  at-28  cents  a  pound?    (Remember  to  add  1/6.) 

4.  A  certain  Jersey  cow  yielded  in  a  year  6,000  lbs.  of 
milk  that  tested  5.8%  butter-fat.  At  28  cents  a  pound 
what  was  the  value  of  the  butter  (not  butter-fat)  which 
she  produced? 

5.  Skim  milk  from  setting  in  shallow  pans  or  crocks, 
contains  about  .8%  butter-fat,  while  skim  milk  from 
the  separator  contains  about  .05%.  How  many  pounds 
of  butter-fat  are  left  in  1,200  lbs.  of  skim  milk  from 
shallow  pans?    From  separator? 

6.  If  a  farmer  produces  enough  milk  daily  for  110  lbs. 

251 


252  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

of  skim  milk  from  shallow  pans,  how  much  would  he  save 
in  the  year  if  he  bought  a  separator  costing  $75  ? 

7.  If  possible  get  a  worn  out  cream  separator  and 
bring  it  to  school.  Each  boy  in  the  class  should  take  it 
apart  and  put  it  together  again. 

8.  If  you  live  in  a  dairy  section,  visit  a  creamery  and 
observe  methods  and  machinery  used. 

Send  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  The  Dairy 
Herd,  Its  Formation  and  Management,  No.  55;  Dairying 
in  the  South,  No.  151 ;  Buttermaking  on  the  Farm,  No. 
241;  Bacteria  in  Milk,  No.  348;  Tuberculin  Test  of  Cat- 
tle for  Tuberculosis,  No.  351. 


SHEEP 
(Chapter  4) 


2t     zz 
Fig.  124.     Diagram  of  a  Sheep 

/,  Muzzle;  2,  Nostril;  3,  Eye;  4,  Ear;  6,  Throat;  6,  Withers;  7,  Back; 
8,  Loin;  9,  Rump;  10,  Angle  of  Ilium;  11,  Tail  or  Dock;  12,  Hip 
Joint;  13,  Flank;  14,  Hock  Joint;  15,  Stifle  Joint;  16,  Belly;  17,  Side 
or  Barrel;  18,  Girth  Measure;  19,  Forearm;  20,  Shoulder;  21,  Ankle; 
22,  Claw;  23,   Knee;  24,  Elbow;  25,  Chest;  26,   Neck. 

1.  Copy  the  above  figure. 

2.  Close  your  book  and  name  the  parts  of  a  sheep 
from  your  drawing. 

3.  If  it  costs  25  cents  per  rod  to  build  a  fence  suitable 
for  cattle,  and  50  cents  per  rod  to  build  a  fence  for 

253 


254  ELEMExNTARY  AGRICULTURE 

sheep,  what  is  the  additional  cost  to  fence  a  square  10-acre 
field  for  sheep? 

4.  Mention  some  of  the  advantages,  aside  from  the 
money  income,  in  having  sheep  upon  your  farm? 

5.  A  farmer  buys  80  sheep  at  $6.25  each.  What  was 
the  total  cost?  » 

6.  At  shearing  time  they  average  7^/4  lbs.  of  wool  each. 
How  much  is  the  total  amount  of  wool  worth  at  22  cents 
per  pound? 

7.  From  the  eighty  sheep  the  farmer  raises  75  lambs 
worth  $5  each.  AVhat  is  the  total  income  from  the  herd 
for  lambs  and  wool? 

8.  Study  the  sheep  raising  industry  of  your  neighbor- 
hood as  follows:  (a)  How  many  sheep  on  each  farm  on 
the  average?  (b)  What  breed?  (c)  Are  they  raised 
chiefly  for  wool  or  for  mutton? 

9.  Compare  the  labor  and  profit  of  caring  for  five 
dairy  cow^s  with  that  for  thirty  head  of  sheep. 

10.  Debate:  Resolved:  That  it  would  be  profitable  to 
extend  the  sheep  raising  industry  of  this  community. 

11.  Collect  a  number  of  woolen  fabrics  for  a  contest 
in  judging  how  many  are  all  wool.  Test  by  burning  with 
a  match  threads  of  the  warp  and  woof  separately. 
Woolen  threads  fry  and  show  grease  oozing  out  while 
cotton  threads  blaze  up  brightly. 

12.  Show  how  to  keep  an  account  of  a  flock  of  sheep 
giving  cost  of  food  and  care  and  also  income. 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers*  bulletins:  Raising 
Sheep  for  Mutton,  No.  96 ;  Sheep  Feeding,  No.  49 ;  Angora 
Goats,  No.  137 ;  Scab  in  Sheep,  No.  159. 


SWINE 

(Chapter  5) 


19  20 


15     16 


Fig.  125.    Diagram  of  a  Hog 


1,  Snout;  2,  Eye;  3,  Ear;  4,  Neck;  5,  Shoulder,  6,  Back;  7,  Side;  8,  Loin; 
9,  Rump;  10,  Tail;  11,  Ham;  12,  Hock;  13,  Hind  Leg;  14,  Dew 
Claw;  15,  Pastern;  16,  Foot;  17,  Stifle;  18,  Hind  Flank;  19,  Belly; 
20,  Fare  Flank;  21,  Fore  Leg;  22,  Breast;  23 ^  Jowl, 

1.  Copy  the  above  illustration. 

2.  Close  your  book  and  name  the  parts  of  the  hog 
from  your  drawing. 

3.  Make  a  list  of  the  hogs  on  your  own  farm.  Have 
your  father  give  you  the  value  of  each.  What  different 
breeds  are  on  your  farm? 

4.  Do  you  try  to  feed  balanced  rations?  If  so,  how 
do  you  mix  the  feed? 


255 


256  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

5.  What  are  some  of  the  advantages  or  disadvantages 
of  raising  hogs  in  your  community  instead  of  sheep  or 
cattle? 

6.  Find  the  value  of  a  hog  weighing  245  pounds  at 
6^4  cents  a  pound. 

7.  A  sow  has  nine  pigs  in  a  litter.  When  eight  months 
old  the  pigs  weigh  210  pounds  each.  What  is  the  weight 
of  all  and  what  are  they  worth  at  6l^  cents  per  pound? 

8.  If  a  bushel  of  corn  costing  50  cents  will  produce  10 
pounds  of  pork,  how  much  does  the  feed  cost  for  one 
pound  of  pork? 

9.  If  it  requires  8  pounds  of  ear  corn  to  make  one 
pound  of  pork,  how  many  pounds  of  pork  will  80  bushels 
of  ear  corn  make?  (70  pounds  per  bushel.)  How  much 
will  the  pork  be  worth  at  8  cents  per  pound? 

10.  If  the  corn  in  the  above  problem  costs  50  cents 
per  bushel,  find  the  profit  from  feeding. 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  No.  100.; 
No.  133;  No.  205;  No.  272. 


POULTRY 

(Chapter  6) 


Fig.  126.    Diagram  of  a  Rooster 

t,  Comb;  2,  Beak;  3,  Wattles;  4,  Ear;  5,  Hackle;  6,  Breast;  7,  Back; 
8,  Saddle;  9,  Sickles;  10,  Main  Tail  Feathers;  11,  Saddle  Feathers; 
12,  Wing-Bow;  13,  Wing-Bar;  14,  Secondaries,  wing-hay;  15,  Prim' 
aries  or  flight  feathers;  16,  Fluff;  17,  Thigh;  18,  Hock;  19,  Shank 
or  Leg;  20,  Spur;  21,  Toe  or  Claw, 

1.  Copy  the  above  illustration. 

2.  Close  your  book  and  name  the  parts  of  the  rooster 
from  your  drawing. 


257 


258  '       ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

3.    How  to  test  infertile  eggs : 

Place  a  small  lamp  or  lantern  in  a  box  with  a  small 
hole  in  the  top  for  draft.  Cut  another  hole  a  little  smaller 
than  an  egg  in  the  side  of  the  box,  just  opposite  the  flame 
of  the  lamp.  Take  this  apparatus  into  a  dark  room  and 
hold  the  egg  against  the  opening  in  front  of  the  flame. 
As  the  light  shines  through,  the  infertile  egg — that  is  the 
one  that  will  not  hatch — will  appear  clear.  The  fertile 
egg  will  show  a  net  work  of  threads  running  out  from 
the  center  and  floating  about  as  the  egg  is  turned.  A 
number  of  hens  should  be  set  at  the  same  time  and  after 
or  about  the  sixth  day  all  the  eggs  should  be  tested  and 
the  infertile  ones  removed ;  then  one  or  more  of  the  hens 
may  be  released  and  the  fertile  eggs  distributed  among 
the  other  hens. 

%.  Make  a  candler  test  apparatus  like  that  above  and 
bring  to  school.  Bring  fresh  and  stale  eggs  from  home 
to  be  tested.  If  the  eggs  are  fresh  the  air  cell  in  tTie  end 
of  the  egg  should  be  no  larger  than  a  dime,  the  contents 
should  look  opaque,  the  yoke  scarcely  visible  and  free 
from  any  discoloring,  the  white  should  be  thick  and  com- 
pact, and  the  yolk  should  be  stationary — not  floating 
about.  In  order  to  obtain  the  highest  prices,  eggs  should 
be  uniform  in  shape  and  color  with  a  smooth  shell  that 
is  free  from  spots  and  clean  without  having  been  washed. 

5.  Learn  the  U.  S.  Government's  rules  for  profit  in 
eggs  as  given  below : 

(a)  '*Keep  the  nests  clean;  provide  one  nest  for  each 
four  hens. 

(b)  Gather  the  eggs  twice  each  day. 

(c)  Keep  the  eggs  in  a  cool  dry  room  or  cellar. 

(d)  Market  the  eggs  at  least  twice  a  week. 


APPENDIX  259 

(e)  Market  or  confine  all  male  fowls  as  soon  as  the 
hatching  season  is  over. 

6.  If  each  of  100  hens  averages  90  eggs  a  year,  what 
is  the  income  from  the  flock  with  eggs  at  20  cents  a 
dozen? 

7.  How  many  bushels  of  shelled  corn  will  it  buy  at 
45  cents  a  bushel?    Of  wheat  at  70  cents? 

8.  If  it  takes  12  bushels  of  corn  at  50  cents  a  bushel, 
5  bushels  of  oats  at  30  cents,  and  $7.50  worth  of  other 
feed  to  keep  this  flock  for  one  year,  what  is  the  net  profit  ? 

9.  At  18  cents  a  pound,  what  should  be  received  for 
80  hens  weighing  6V2  pounds  each  ? 

10.  The  farmers  of  a  community  market  all  their  eggs 
together.  If  each  farm  produces  30  eggs  per  day,  how 
many  farms  will  be  needed  to  fill  7  cases  a  week,  each 
holding  30  dozen? 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  No.  51;  No. 
64;  No.  186;  No.  200. 


BIRDS 

(Chapter  10) 

1.  Make  a  list  of  birds  you  can  name  at  sight.  What 
do  you  know  of  the  feeding  and  nesting  habits  of  each 
of  these? 

2.  Make  a  list  of  the  birds  that  remain  over  winter 
in  your  neighborhood.  What  birds  migrate?  Where  dD 
they  go,  and  why  ? 

3.  Keep  a  watch  for  birds  that  you  do  not  recognize 
and  take  notice  of  their  habits.  Get  a  bird  book  and  see 
if  you  can  identify  them. 

4.  Make  a  list  of  birds  that  search  for  food  on  the 
leaves  of  trees ;  of  birds  that  catch  flying  insects ;  of  birds 
that  search  for  insects  in  the  bark  of  trees ;  of  birds  that 
oat  weed  seeds. 

5.  If  the  damage  done  by  insects  in  your  community 
is  30  cents  an  acre,  how  much  would  that  amount  to 
on  your  farm? 

6.  If  there  are  four  birds  on  every  acre,  how  many 
birds  would  there  be  on  your  farm?    In  your  township? 

7.  If  each  bird  eats  50  insects  a  day,  how  many  in- 
sects would  be  destroyed  in  your  township  during  the 
months  of  June,  July  and  August? 

8.  If  30,000  insects  fill  a  peck  measure,  how  many 
pecks  of  insects  would  the  birds  of  your  township  eat 
during  the  three  summer  months? 

9.  Bead  Longfellow's  poem  entitled  *'The  Birds  of 
Killingworth.*' 

[Colored  pictures  of  all  birds  can  be  obtained  from  the  publishers 
of  this  book — a.  Flanagan  company,  Chicago.  Size  7x9  inches. 
2  cents  each.] 

260 


APPENDIX  261 

Send  to  the  Depaitmeiit  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  Some  Com- 
mon Birds  and  Their  Relation  to  Agriculture,  No.  54; 
Our  Grosbeaks  and  Their  Value  to  Agriculture,  No.  456 ; 
Food  of  Some  Well  Known  Birds  of  Forest,  Farm,  and 
Garden,  No.  506 ;  Fifty  Common  Birds  of  Farm  and  Or- 
chard, No.  513. 


SOIL 

(Chapter  11) 

1.  Weigh  a  quart  fruit  can  full  of  rich  black  soil. 
Dry  thoroughly  by  holding  over  a  fire,  being  careful  not 
to  burn,  and  then  weigh  again.  The  difference  is  the 
weight  of  the  water  content  of  the  soil.  What  per  cent 
of  the  soil  is  water? 

2.  Place  the  soil  in  a  pan  and  burn  it.  Cool  and  weigh 
again.  The  loss  in  weight  is  the  humus  or  organic  mat- 
ter of  the  soil.  What  per  cent  is  organic  matter?  The 
portion  remaining  is  the  mineral  matter.  What  per  cent 
is  mineral  matter? 

3.  Fill  three  small  flower  pots  with  finely  pulverized 
soil,  one  with  clay,  one  with  sand  and  one  with  loam. 
As  you  weigh  these  add  enough  to  make  them  weigh  the 
same.  Pour  water  slowly  into  each  pot  until  the  soils 
are  thoroughly  wet  and  the  water  begins  to  run  out  at 
the  bottom.  Then  weigh  the  pots  of  wet  soil,  and  find 
which  is  holding  the  most  water.  Which  soil  took  in 
the  water  the  quickest?  Which  the  most  slowly?  In 
case  of  heavy  rain,  which  soil  would  absorb  the  great- 
est amount  of  water  ?  Notice  which  flower  pot  continues 
to  drip  the  longest  and  which  drains  the  most  rapidly. 
What  bearing  does  this  experiment  have  on  farming? 

4.  Break  bottoms  from  three  large  vinegar  bottles  of 
uniform  size.  Fill  one  with  loam,  one  with  clay,  and  one 
with  sand.  Tie  a  cloth  over  the  mouth  of  each  bottle 
and  place  in  a  rack  as  shown  in  Fig.  127  so  that  the  ends 

262 


APPENDIX 


263 


reach  down  into  tumblers  of  water.  Fill  each  tumbler  to 
the  same  height.  Note  the  rise  of  the  water  in  the  dif- 
ferent soils,  the  height,  and  the  time  it  takes.  In  which 
soil  does  the  water  rise  most  rapidly?  In  which  to  the 
greatest  height  ?  This  power  of  soil  to  draw  water  from 
below  is  called  capillarity  and  the  water  is  called  capil- 
lary water.  "What  lesson  on  farming  do  we  learn  from 
this  experiment? 


tCO^w-? 


Fig.  127.    Action  of  Water  in  Soil 


5.  Fill  three  bottles  to  the  depth  of  about  one  inch 
with  clay,  sand,  and  loam.  Then  completely  fill  all  three 
bottles  with  water  and  shake  thoroughly.  Set  the  bottles 
ill  a  quiet  place  and  let  their  contents  settle.  Observe 
which  soil  settles  to  the  bottom  most  quickly,  keeping 
a  record  of  the  time  required  for  the  water  to  become 
clear  in  each  bottle. 

6.  Crumble  a  piece  of  clay  into  fine  particles.  Do 
the  same  with  loam  and  with  sandy  soil.     Which  soil, 


264  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

in  your  opinion,  will  be  the  most  satisfactory  under  till- 


7.  Many  soils  contain  acid,  and  so  certain  crops 
sucli  as  clover  and  alfalfa  will  not  grow  well  in  them. 
Bury  a  small  piece  of  blue  litmus  paper,  which  you  can 
secure  from  the  druggist,  in  moist  soil  obtained  two  or 
three  inches  under  the  surface  from  different  parts  of 
your  field.  Allow  it  to  remain  five  minutes.  If  the 
paper  turns  red  the  soil  is  acid  and  needs  lime.  Use 
this  litmus  paper  test  on  the  different  fields  of  your  farm. 

8.  Is  the  manure  on  your  home  farm  collected  under 
cover  upon  a  water  tight  floor?  What  advantage  has 
this  method  over  that  of  leaving  manure  in  the  barn 
yard? 

9.  What  fertilizers  are  used  on  your  farm  ?  How  much 
is  applied  per  acre  and  what  is  the  cost  ?  What  is  meant 
by  8-3-3  fertilizer? 

10.  Make  a  ball  of  wet  clay  and  leave  it  to"  dry.  Make 
another  ball  of  clay  mixed  with  sand  and  one  of  clay 
mixed  with  a  little  lime.  How  do  these  three  balls  com- 
pare?   What  lesson  do  we  learn  from  this  experiment? 

11.  Fill  two  large  pails  or  cans  with  moist  soil.  Shake 
do\\Ti  well  by  jarring  the  vessel.  Weigh  each  one  and 
place  in  a  dry  place  for  a  week.  Leave  one  undisturbed, 
but  keep  a  mulch  on  the  other  by  stirring  it  well  each 
day  to  a  depth  of  two  inches.  At  the  end  of  a  week 
v,^eigh  both  pails.  Which  has  lost  the  greater  amount 
of  moisture?    What  lesson  do  we  learn  from  this? 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  No.  44;  No. 
187;  No.  192;  No.  245. 


PLANTS 

(Chapter  12) 

1.  Place  a  moist  blotter  or  cloth  upon  a  plate  con- 
taining several  radish  seeds.  After  a  few  days  observe 
the  delicate  root  hairs  on  the  roots  of  the  germinating 
seeds. 

2.  Place  a  few  grains  of  corn  on  a  piece  of  marble 
slab  and  cover  them  with  soil  two  inches  deep.  After 
ten  days  remove  the  plants  and  wash  the  marble.  Notice 
that  the  roots  have  dissolved  a  little  of  the  marble.  This 
is  done  by  means  of  carbon  dioxide,  which  is  supplied 
from  the  roots. 

3.  Fill  two  tin  cans  with  the  same  kind  of  soil  after 
driving  several  small  holes  in  the  bottom  of  one  of  the 
cans.  Plant  seed  at  the  same  depth  in  each  and  add  water 
until  the  soil  is  thoroughly  moist.  After  several  days 
observe  in  which  can  the  seeds  have  germinated  more 
quickly.  What  was  Avrong  with  the  other  can  that  the 
seed  did  not  germinate  so  well  ? 

4.  In  two  tin  cans  with  holes  in  the  bottoms  place  the 
same  amount  of  soil  and  plant  seeds.  In  one  can 
add  much  water  and  puddle  the  soil  around  the  seeds. 
Moisten  the  soil  in  the  other  can  and  keep  it  loose  and 
mellow.  When  the  plants  have  begun  to  grow,  what 
difference  do  you  observe? 

5.  Plant  tomato  seeds  in  a  small  box  of  soil  and  keep 
it  in  a  warm  room.  Fill  a  number  of  small  paper  boxes 
with  soil  at  the  same  time,  and  plant  two  or  three  tomato 
seeds  in  each.     After  the  plants  come  up  in  the  paper 


266  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

boxes  remove  all  but  one  from  each  box.  When  the 
proper  garden  planting  time  comes,  place  the  paper 
boxes  in  the  ground  without  disturbing  the  tomato 
plants.  At  the  same  time,  transplant  an  equal  number  of 
tomato  plants  from  the  wooden  box.  What  differences 
do  you  notice  in  the  results  from  the  two  methods? 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins :  Testing  Farm 
Seeds  in  the  Home  and  the  Rural  School,  No.  428 ;  School 
Garden,  No.  218;  Tomatoes,  No.  220;  Home  Vegetable 
Garden,  No.  255;  Celery,  No.  282;  Onions,  No.  354;  Can- 
ning Vegetables  in  the  Home,  No.  359 ;  Cabbage,  No.  433. 


FARM  MACHINERY 

(Chapter  13) 

1.  Make  a  list  of  the  different  kinds  of  plows,  har- 
rows, reapers  and  planters.  Which  of  each  kind  do  you 
think  the  best,  and  why? 

2.  Have  some  farm  machine  or  implement,  such  as 
a  plow,  brought  to  school.  Take  it  apart  and  set  it  up 
again,  examining  construction  of  each  part. 

3..    Learn  these  rules  for  the  care  of  farm  machinery: 

(a)  Never  leave  a  machine  or  tool  in  the  field  to  rust. 

(b)  As  soon  as  you  are  through  with  a  tool  or  ma- 
chine for  the  season,  clean,  oil,  and  place  under  shelter. 

(c)  All  implements  and  vehicles  must  be  kept  oiled. 

(d)  Every  farmer  should  have  a  tool  kit  and  should 
repair  machines  promptly. 


CORN 

(Chapter  14) 

1.  On  a  glass  or  cup  of  water  place  a  blotter  and  over 
it  place  a  small  strip  of  cloth  so  that  it  extends  down  into 
the  water.  This  acts  as  a  lamp  wick  and  draws  up  the 
water  to  keep  the  blotter  moist.  On  the  blotter  place 
several  grains  of  corn  and  cover  with  another  blotter. 
Keep  in  a  warm  place  and  observe  from  day  to  day  the 
sprouting  of  the  corn.  Observe  the  root  hairs.  How 
many  temporary  roots  are  there? 

2.  In  a  tall  pot  or  jar,  plant  five  grains  of  corn  at  each 
of  the  following  depths:  one,  two,  four,  and  six  inches. 
Place  them  in  a  warm  room  and  keep  moist,  but  not  too 
wet.  From  day  to  day  note  the  growth  at  each  depth, 
both  the  temporary  and  the  permanent  roots.  Observe 
the  time  it  takes  for  the  plants  to  come  up  from  each 
depth. 

3.  Test  some  seed  corn  as  follows : 

Fill  a  box  three  or  four  inches  deep  and  a  foot  square 
v.ith  sand.  Across  the  top  place  a  cloth  on  which  squares 
have  been  drawn  three  inches  each  way  and  numbered,  1, 
2,  3,  etc.  Number  several  ears  of  corn,  one  for  each 
square.  Take  six  grains  from  each,  and  place  them  in  the 
corresponding  squares.  Take  the  kernels  from  different 
parts  of  the  ear,  but  not  from  the  base  or  tip.  Cover 
them  with  another  cloth  and  two  or  three  inches  of  sand. 
Keep  moist  and  warm.    If  the  grains  of  all  the  squares 

267 


268  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

do  not  sprout  well  within  four  or  five  days,  the  ears  of 
the  corresponding  numbers  should  be  discarded  from 
your  seed  corn  supply. 

4.  In  testing  your  father's  seed  corn,  a  box  thirty-six 
inches  square  and  three  inches  deep  will  enable  you  to 
test  much  more  rapidly.    (See  also  paragraph  13.) 

5.  Kernels  for  planting  should  be  of  uniform  size  so 
that  the  planter  will  drop  the  same  number  regularly. 
Shell,  the  kernels  from  the  tip,  the  butt,  and  some  from 
the  middle  of  the  ear  and  keep  them  in  separate  piles. 
Place  three  grains  from  the  middle  of  the  ear  on  a  sheet 
of  paper  close  together.  Draw  a  circle  around  them  with 
a  pencil  as  closely  as  possible.  Remove  the  grains  and 
place  three  from  the  butt  or  from  the  tip  in  the  same 
circle.  Do  they  fill  the  circle?  What  bearing  does  this 
have  upon  the  corn  planter? 

6.  If  a  farmer  increase*  his  crop  of  corn  six  bushels 
per  acre  by  careful  selection  of  his  seed,  how  much  more 
income  would  he  get  from  45  acres  when  corn  sells  at 
50  cents  per  bushel? 

7.  If  a  bushel  of  seed  corn  will  plant  7  acres,  what  is 
the  cost  per  acre  when  seed  corn  is  $2.00  per  bushel? 

8.  If  com  is  planted  in  check  rows  3  feet,  8  inches 
apart  each  way,  how  many  square  feet  does  each  hill  of 
corn  occupy  ?    How  many  hills  on  an  acre  ? 

Answers :    14  4/9  square  feet ;  3,240  hills. 

9.  If  6  of  the  10  kernels  taken  from  an  ear  of  corn 
that  is  being  tested  grow,  what  per  cent  does  the  ear 
germinate  ? 

10.  Twenty  full  sized  ears  of  corn  will  usually  plant 
one  acre.  If  2  of  the  ears  will  not  grow,  what  per  cent 
of  the  corn  will  be  missing  in  an  acre?    In  your  field? 


APPENDIX 


11.  An  acre  was  planted  with  20  ears  of  corn,  five  of 
which  did  not  germinate.  The  acre  produced  30  bushels 
of  corn.  What  would  it  have  produced  if  all  the  seed 
had  grown? 

12.  A  farmer  increased  his  crop  of  corn  15  bushels  an 
acre  by  testing  the  seed.  What  will  be  his  additional 
income  in  5  years  on  40  acres  wuth  corn  at  50  cents  a 
bushel? 

13.  The  most  convenient  way  to  test  seed  corn  at  school 
is  by  using  the  ''rag-doll"  tester.  It  is  merely  a  strip  of 
muslin  about  five  feet  long  and  nine  inches  wide.  Mark 
spaces  on  this  strip  and  number  them  so  you  can  identify 
the  ears  you  are  testing.  Place  the  kernels  from  the  ears 
in  the  spaces  just  as  in  the  sawdust  tester,  and  roll  care- 
fully and  tightly  from  both  ends,  keeping  the  kernels  in 
the  proper  spaces.  Tie  a  string  around  the  roll  and  stand 
the  roll,  with  tips  of  the  kernels  down,  in  a  bucket  of  tepid 
water  for  several  hours.  Then  place  the  roll  under  an 
inverted  bucket  so  the  moisture  will  not  dry  out. 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  Silos  and 
Silage,  No.  32 ;  Production  of  Good  Seed  Corn,  No.  229 ; 
Germination  of  Seed  Corn,  No.  253 ;  Food  Value  of  Corn, 
No.  298;  Harvesting  and  Storing  Corn,  No.  313;  Corn 
Harvesting  Machinery,  No.  303;  Corn  Cultivation,  No. 
414;  Seed  Corn,  No.  415;  Corn  Culture  in  the  South, 
No.  81. 


WHEAT 

(Chapter  15) 

1.  Make  a  collection  of  the  most  common  kinds  of 
wheat  and  place  a  sample  of  each  in  a  small  bottle, 
properly  labeled. 

2.  Plant  about  thirty  grains  of  wheat  in  a  pan  of 
earth.  At  the  end  of  each  week  take  out  two  or  three 
of  the  sprouting  grains  and  make  drawings  of  the  roots. 

3.  Mustard  may  be  destroyed  in  grain  fields  with  a 
20%  solution  of  iron  sulphate,  costing  about  90  cents 
per  hundred  pound  sack.  100  pounds  dissolved  in  50 
gallons  of  water  will  make  a  20%  solution  which  is  enough 
to  spray  1  acre.  What  is  the  cost  of  solution  needed  to 
spray  60  acres  of  wheat? 

4.  If  a  team  travels  15  miles  a  day  drawing  a  spray- 
ing machine  that  covers  a  strip  16  feet  wide,  what  will 
be  the  cost  per  acre  for  labor  if  the  man,  team,  and  ma- 
chine are  worth  $4  per  day  ? 

5.  How  many  pounds  of  wheat  (60  lbs.  to  the  bushel) 
are  produced  on  12%  acres  yielding  20  bushels  per  acre  ? 

6.  If  7/10  of  wheat  is  starch,  how  many  pounds  of 
starch  are  there  in  30  bushels  of  wheat? 

7.  If  it  takes  4.77  bushels  of  wheat  to  make  one  bar- 
rel of  flour,  how  many  barrels  of  flour  can  be  made  from 
a  30  acre  fleld  of  wheat,  harvesting  15  bushels  to  the  acre  ? 

8.  If  wheat  for  seeding  contains  1/20  weed  seed  hov/ 
much  land  will  a  farmer  sow  to  weeds  if  he  plants  60 
acres  to  wheat? 

270 


OATS 

(Chapter  21) 

1.  Make  a  collection  of  specimens  of  fine  grades  of 
oats  and  place  them  in  bottles  properly  labeled. 

2.  Plant  twenty-five  or  thirty  grains  of  oats  and  after 
a  week  dig  up  a  few  of  them  and  observe  the  temporary 
roots.  How  many  are  there?  After  another  week  has 
elapsed  dig  up  other  plants  and  observe  the  growth  of 
permanent  roots.  Continue  this  observation  at  intervals 
of  a  week  and  make  drawings. 

3.  A  farmer  threshes  1,200  bushels  of  oats.  In  each 
bushel  there  are  4  pounds  of  weed  seed.  What  per  cent 
of  his  crop  is  weeds?  How  many  pounds  of  weed  seed 
does  he  gather? 

4."  If  it  requires  4  pounds  of  twine  per  acre,  costing  15 
cents  per  pound,  to  tie  up  grain,  how  n^uch  does  it  cost 
to  tie  up  the  weeds  in  a  20  acre  field,  if  1/12  of  the  crop 
is  weeds? 

5.  If  formaldehyde  costs  fifty  cents  per  pint  and  a 
pint  will  treat  40  bushels  of  oats,  how  much  will  it  cost 
to  treat  the  seed  oats  on  30  acres,  sowing  3  bushels  to  the 
acre? 

6.  Test  100  grains  of  seed  oats,  using  the  rag  doll  tester. 
Find  the  number  of  strong,  weak  and  dead  grains.  What 
per  cent  is  there  of  each  kind  in  your  test?  (See  page 
269  for  tester.) 

271 


POTATOES 
(Chapter  19) 

1.  Bring  some  sprouting  potatoes  to  school  and  place 
them  in  a  warm,  moist  place.  Observe  the  sprouting  of 
the  eyes. 

2.  Cut  a  potato  in  about  one-half  as  many  pieces  as 
it  has  eyes.  Plant  these  in  a  box  of  earth  or  in  the  ground 
and  pull  up  a  plant  every  few  days  to  observe  the  growth 
of  roots  and  tubers.  How  long  after  planting  do  the 
young  tubers  start? 

3.  If  it  takes  200  gallons  of  Bordeaux  mixture,  cost- 
ing $1.50,  to  spray  one  acre  of  potatoes  once,  and  it 
takes  two  applications  to  cure  the  blight,  what  is  the 
cost  of  the  mixture  for  spraying  10  acres  of  potatoes  for 
the  season? 

4.  How  many  bushels  of  potatoes  worth  60  cents  a 
bushel  will  be  needed  to  pay  the  extra  cost  of  spraying? 

5.  If  an  acre  of  potatoes  yields  110  bushels,  what  is 
the  value  of  the  crop  at  40  cents  per  bushel? 

6.  If  a  potato  farmer  gave  his  crop  careful  attention 
it  would  cost  him  $25.00  per  acre  to  grow  potatoes.  What 
is  the  net  profit  per  acre  if  the  yield  is  110  bushels  worth 
40  cents  a  bushel  ? 

7.  Potatoes  are  usually  planted  in  rows  3  feet  apart 
with  hills  16  inches  apart  in  the  row.  How  many  square 
feet  of  ground  does  each  hill  occupy?  How  many  hills 
will  there  be  in  an  acre  containing  43,560  square  feet  ? 

272 


APPENDIX  273 

8.  John  Robbins  raised  3,000  bushels  of  potatoes  and 
was  offered  40  cents  a  bushel  for  them  in  November. 
After  storing  them  through  the  winter,  he  sold  them  at 
75  cents  per  bushel.  If  the  potatoes  shrank  1/10,  what 
was  his  gain  by  keeping  them  over  winter  ? 

9.  At  another  time  John  stored  his  crop  of  3,000  bush- 
els rather  than  sell  them  for  50  cents  per  bushel.  The 
following  spring  he  was  forced  to  sell  his  crop  for  40 
cents  per  bushel.    What  did  he  lose  if  they  shrank  1/10? 

10.  Hold  a  potato  paring  contest  among  the  girls  of 
the  class,  weighing  the  parings  and  the  peeled  potatoes. 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  Potato  Cul- 
ture, No.  35;  Potato  as  a  Truck  Crop,  No.  407;  Potatoes 
and  Other  Root  Crops  as  Food,  No.  295. 

WEEDS  * 
(Chapter  20) 

1.  If  one  extra  harrowing  killed  enough  weeds  to 
increase  the  corn  crop  3  bushels  an  acre,  how  much  was  the 
clear  gain  for  this  work  on  100  acres  when  com  sells  at 
50  cents  per  bushel  ? 

2.  If  morning  glories  destroy  162  hills  of  an  acre  of 
corn  that  has  3240  hills,  what  per  cent  of  the  crop  is  left  ? 

3.  If  the  acre  of  corn  yields  57  bushels,  how  much 
would  it  have  yielded  if  the  morning  glories  had  been 
destroyed  ? 

4.  If  a  clean  field  produces  56  bushels  of  corn  an  acre 
and  a  weedy  field  only  34  bushels,  what  is  the  loss  per 
acre  caused  by  weeds  when  corn  sells  for  45  cents  a  bushel  ? 

5.  If  quack  grass  reduces  the  yield  of  corn  8  bushels 
per  acre,  what  is  the  loss  when  corn  is  selling  at  55  cents 
a  bushel? 


FRUIT 
(Chapter  21) 

1.  Visit  a  fruit  grower  if  possible  and  ask  him  to  show 
you  how  to  graft  a  scion  of  one  tree  to  the  stock  of  an- 
other. Learn  also  how  to  remove  a  bud  from  a  branch 
and  attach  it  to  the  branch  of  another  tree. 

2.  Bend  to  the  ground  a  branch  of  a  grape  vine  or  of  a 
black  raspberry  vine.  Cover  part  of  it  with  several 
inches  of  soil,  but  leave  several  inches  of  the  end  of  the 
branch  above   ground.     After  a  few  weeks  see  if  the 

..buried  branch  has  taken  root.  If  so,  separate  it  from  the 
old  plant  by  cutting. 

3.  Weigh  two  apples  of  about  the  same  size  separately. 
Peel  one  and  leave  the  other  unpeeled.  Weigh  each  apple 
the  next  day.    Which  has  lost  more  in  weight,  and  why  ? 

4.  Have  an  apple  paring  and  an  apple  coring  contest 
among  the  pupils,  weighing  the  apples  before  and  after. 

5.  Try  at  home  to  can  windfall  apples  as  follows : 
*'Peel,  core,  and  slice;  scald  1  minute  in  boiling  water; 

plunge  in  cold  water.  Pack  in  glass  or  tin  and  add  about 
one  teacup  full  of  hot  thin  syrup  to  each.  Put  on  rubber 
and  top  and  partially  tighten.  Sterilize  16  minutes  in 
hot  water.    Remove,  tighten  covers,  and  invert  to  cool." 

6.  What  will  it  cost  to  set  out  a  young  apple  orchard 
of  10  acres  square,  with  trees  costing  25  cents  each,  if 
the  trees  are  planted  in  squares  36  feet  apart? 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  No.  33,  No. 
113,  No.  154. 

274 


BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'  CLUBS 
(Chapter  27) 

1.  In  1913  Walker  Dunson  of  Alabama  led  the  corn 
club  boys  in  the  crop  of  that  year.  He  raised  232  7/10 
bushels  on  one  acre  at  a  cost  of  only  19  9/10  cents  per 
bushel.  What  was  the  net  profit  on  his  acre  with  corn 
selling  at  50  cents  a  bushel? 

2.  Jerry  Moore,  a  former  corn  champion  of  South 
Carolina,  raised  228  75/100  bushels  at  a  cost  of  42  cents 
per  bushel.  If  each  crop  sold  at  50  cents  per  bushel, 
which  had  the  greater  profit? 

3.  The  ordinary  yield  of  tomatoes  is  about  8  tons  per 
acre.  The  best  culture  secures  18  tons  per  acre.  If  the 
canning  factory  pays  $8.50  a  ton,  how  much  greater  is 
the  income  from  3%  acres  of  tomatoes  given  the  best  cul- 
ture than  that  from  the  same  acreage  given  ordinary 
treatment  ? 

4.  Merle  Hyer  of  Lewiston  has  the  world's  record  po- 
tato yield — 764  bushels  per  acre.  It  cost  him  $60.00  and 
his  net  profit  was  $398.00.  What  was  the  selling  price 
per  bushel? 

Write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  farmers'  bulletins:  No.  104; 
No.  154 ;  No.  155 ;  No.  218 ;  No.  255 ;  No.  521 ;  No.  803. 

Note. — For  Agricultural  Club  Organization  Blank  Forms,  address 

Department  op  Agriculture 

Bureau  of  Plant  Industry 

OfiBce  of  the  Farm  Management — Club  Work 

Washington,  D.  T. 

275 


USEFUL  INFORMATION 

EVEBY   GIRL   SHOULD    KNOW   HOW    TO    REMOVE    STAINS 

Tar  or  Wagon  Grease.  Cold  soapsuds  will  remove  most 
stains  if  used  before  the  garment  is  dipped  in  hot  water. 
For  pitch  stains,  grease  with  lard  before  using  soap  and 
water.    Turpentine  will  remove  all  such  stains. 

Grass.  Remove  grass  stains  when  fresh  if  possible.  Al- 
cohol, naphtha  soap  and  water,  or  ammonia  and  water 
will  remove  grass  stains. 

Ink.  Wet  the  spot  with  warm  water,  apply  sapolio, 
and  rub  gently  between  the  hands,  or  wash  in  a  solution 
of  hydrochloric  acid  and  rinse  in  ammonia  water. 

Mildew.  Mix  equal  parts  of  soft  soap  and  starch,  half 
as  much  common  salt  and  the  juice  of  half  a  lemon,  spread 
over  the  spots  and  lay  the  article  on  the  grass  for  twenty- 
four  hours  or  until  the  stain  disappears. 

Blood  Stains.  Fresh  stains  may  be  rubbed  out  after 
soaking  in  cold  or  tepid  water.  If  very  dry,  use  javelle 
water  or  peroxide  of  hydrogen.  Kerosene  in  water  will 
remove*  obstinate  stains.  Articles  that  cannot  conveni- 
ently be  washed,  may  be  cleaned  by  making  a  paste  of 
bulk  starch  and  cold  water,  spreading  on  thickly  and 
drying  in  the  sunlight.  When  dry  brush  off  and  repeat 
process. 

Iron  Rust.  Apply  salt  and  lemon  juice  to  the  dampened 
spots  and  place  in  the  sun  or  near  the  fire.  Rinse 
thoroughly. 

Fruit  Stains.  Pour  boiling  water  over  the  surface,  hav- 
ing it  fall  from  a  distance  of  three  feet,  or  wring  article 
out  of  cold  water  and  hang  out  of  doors  on  a  frosty  night. 

276 


APPENDIX  277 

If  obstinate,  diluted  muriatic  acid,  javelle  water,  or 
sulphur  fumes  are  good. 

Meat  Juice.  Hot  water  will  set  the  stain.  Soak  in  cold 
water,  wash  in  suds  of  cold  water,  and  rinse  in  cold 
water. 

Paint  Spots.  Equal  parts  of  ammonia  and  turpentine 
will  remove  paint  stains  of  long  standing. 

Tea,  Coffee,  or  Cocoa.  Wash  in  cold  water,  cover  with 
<rlycerine,  and  let  stand  two  or  three  hours;  wash  with 
•  old  water  and  hard  soap.  If  stains  are  fresh,  pour 
boiling  water  through  from  a  height  after  soaking. 

Perspiration.  Soak  in  cold  water,  wash  with  borax, 
and  expose  garment  to  sunshine.  Stains  under  the  arms 
require  an  acid,  such  as  a  weak  solution  of  muriatic  acid. 

Burned  Cooking  Utensils.  To  clean  granite  ware  where 
mixtures  have  been  burned  on.  Half  fill  with  cold  water, 
adding  any  good  soap  or  washing  powder;  heat  water 
gradually  to  the  boiling  point. 

INSECTICIDES  AND  FUNGICIDES 
For  Biting  Insects — Poisons. 

1.    Arsenate  of  Lead. 

Arsenate  of  lead 2  to  3  pounds 

Water,  or  Bordeaux,  or  lime-sulphur 50  gallons 

Arsenate  of  lead  is  found  on  the  market  both  as. a  pow- 
der and  as  a  putty-like  paste.  The  paste  must  be  worked 
free  in  water  before  it  is  added  to  the  lime-sulphur  mix- 
ture or  to  the  Bordeaux  mixture.  The  paste  form  of  the 
[)oison  is  used  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  pounds  to  each 
fifty  gallons  of  the  liquid  and  is  added  to  it  after  it  has 
been  well  dissolved  in  water.  * 


278  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

2.  Wet  Paris  Green. 

Paris  green i/^  pound 

Lime i/o  pound 

Water SO'gallons 

If  the  above  amount  of  Paris  green  is  to  be  used  with 
fifty  gallons  of  Bordeaux  mixture  the  half-pound  of  lime 
should  be  omitted. 

3.  Dry  Paris  Green. 

Paris  green   1  pound 

Powdered  lime 20  pounds 

For  Sucking  Insects. 

4.  Kerosene  Emulsion. 

Strong  hard  soap,  shaved  fine i/^  pound 

"Water 1  gallon 

Kerosene  or  crude  petroleum 2  gallons 

The  soap  should  be  dissolved  in  the  water  by  boiling, 
remove  from  the  fire  while  still  boiling  hot  and  at  a  safe 
distance  from  the  fire  add  the  oil,  stirring  violently  until 
it  is  thick  like  cream.  If  it  is  well  made  it  will  keep 
indefinit'ely  and  may  be  diluted  when  needed  for  use. 
During  the  growing  time  of  summer,  for  plant  lice  and 
other  soft-bodied  insects,  dilute  the  emulsion  with  fifteen 
parts  of  water;  for  the  red  spider  and  other  plant  mites, 
the  same,  with  the  addition  of  one  ounce  of  flowers  of 
sulphur  to  the  gallon;  for  scale  insects,  the  large  plant 
bugs,  and  larvae,  dilute  with  from  seven  to  ten  parts  of 
water.    Apply  with  a  spray  pump. 


APPENDIX  279 

5.  Bordeaux  Mixture — Used  as  a  Fungicide  to  Prevent 
Diseases. 

Copper  sulphate  (bluestone) 6  pounds 

Unslaked  lime 4  pounds 

Water  50  gallons 

Dissolve  the  copper  sulphate  at  the  rate  of  one  pound 
of  copper  to  a  gallon  of  water.  Slake  the  lime  until  it 
is  thick  like  cream.  This  is  a  stock  solution  and  may  be 
kept  covered  until  needed. 

6.  Lime-sulphur — to  Kill  San  Jose  Scale  and  Prevent 
Disease. 

Powdered  flowers  of  sulphur 15  pounds 

Burned  lime  15  to  20  pounds 

Water  50  gallons 

Add  the  wet  sulphur  and  the  slaked  lime  to  ten  gallons 
of  boiling  water.  Boil  for  an  hour  or  until  well  dissolved. 
Add  water  to  make  fifty  gallons. 


FERTILIZERS  FOR  DIFFERENT  CROPS 

These  formulas  must  vary  according  to  the  soils 
Field  Com. 

Ground  bone 250  pounds 

Acid  phosphate  500  pounds 

Muriate  of  potash 250  pounds 

Apply  200  to  300  pounds  to  each  acre  on  manured  soils ; 
300  to  500  pounds  on  medium  soils  without  manure.  In- 
crease nitrogen  for  forage  corn  or  ensilage. 


280  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

Oats. 

Nitrate  of  soda 150  pounds 

Tankage 200  pounds 

Acid  phosphate  600  pounds 

Muriate  of  potash 50  pounds 

Apply  on  good  soils,  200  to  300  pounds  to  an  acre;  300 

to  500  pounds  per  acre  on  medium  soils  with  manure. 

Wheat. 

Dried  blood 150  pounds 

Tankage  100  pounds 

Acid  phosphate 700  pounds 

Muriate  of  potash 50  pounds 

Apply  same  as  oats. 

Early  Potatoes. 

Nitrate  of  soda 100  pounds 

Sulphate  of  ammonia 100  pounds 

Tankage 100  pounds 

Acid  phosphate 500  pounds 

Sulphate  or  muriate  of  potash 200  pounds 

Apply  from  500  to  1,200  pounds  per  acre. 

Sweet  Potatoes. 

Tankage  300  pounds 

Dried  blood  100  pounds 

Acid  phosphate    400  pounds 

Muriate  of  potash 200  pounds 

Apply  from  500  to  800  pounds  per  acre. 

Early  Tomatoes  and  Market  Garden  Crops. 

Nitrate  of  soda 250  pounds 

Ground  bone    100  pounds 

Acid  phosphate  550  pounds 

Muriate  of  potash 100  pounds 

Apply  800  pounds  per  acre. 


APPENDIX  281 

hwtcthy  Hay,  Top  Dressing. 

Nitrate  of  soda 500  pounds 

Ground  bone 200  pounds 

Acid  phosphate    200  pounds 

Muriate  of  potash 100  pounds 

Apply  200  to  300  pounds  per  acre. 

REFERENCE  BOOKS  FOR  TEACHERS 

First  Principles  of  Soil  Fertility.  A.  Vivian  ($1.00), 
Orange,  Judd  Co. 

Bacteria  in  Relation  to  Country  Life.  J.  G.  Lipman 
($1.50),  Macmillan. 

Cereals  in  America.  T.  F.  Hunt  ($1.75),  Orange,  Judd 
Company. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America.  T.  F.  Hunt  ($1.75), 
Orange,  Judd  Co. 

Manual  of  Gardening.     L.  H.  Bailey  ($2.00),  Macmillan. 

The  Principles  of  Fruit-growing.  L.  H.  Bailey,  ($1.50), 
Macmillan. 

The  American  Apple  Orchard.  F.  A.  Waugh  ($1.00), 
Orange,  Judd  Co. 

The  Potato.     S  Frazer  ($1.75),  Orange,  Judd  Co. 

Feeds  and  Feeding.  W.  A.  Henry  ($2.00),  W.  A.  Henry, 
Madison,  Wis. 

Types  and  Breeds  of  Farm  Animals.  S.  C.  Plumb 
($2.00),  Ginn  and  Co. 


282  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 


AGRICULTURAL  BULLETINS 

Each  school  may  secure  a  good  library  of  agricultural 
bulletins  at  small  expense.  Write  to  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C,  asking  that  your  school 
be  placed  on  the  mailing  list  to  receive  the  monthly  list 
of  bulletins.  Ask  also  to  have  sent  one  copy  of  each  of 
the  following : 

Circular  No.  4,  Division  of  Publications. 
Farmers'  Bulletin  Subject  Index. 
List  of  Publications  for  free  distribution. 
List  of  Publications  for  sale. 

Those  pamphlets  on  the  list  for  free  distribution  will 
be  sent  to  any  one  for  the  asking.  Those  listed  for  sale 
may  be  purchased  at  slight  cost,  or  perhaps  some  of  them 
may  be  secured  through  your  Congressman.  Write  to 
your  State  Experiment  Station  (See  p.  XXV)  for  the  list 
of  state  bulletins  for  free  distribution  and  ask  to  have  your 
name  placed  on  their  mailing  list.  A  few  of  the  many 
farmers'  bulletins  to  be  obtained  from  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  are  given  below. 

Horse,  Nos.  170,  222 ;  Cattle,  106,  71,  233 ;  Milk  and  But- 
ter, 55,  42,  63,  251;  Swine,  100,  133,  205,  272;  Poultry,  51, 
186;  Turkeys,  Ducks,  and  Geese,  64,  200;  Insects,  127; 
Bees,  59,  397;  Birds,  54;  Soils,  44,  187,  192,  245;  How 
Plants  Grow,  157;  Corn,  199,  229,  253,  313,  409;  Potato,  35; 
Hay,  89,  339;  Orchards,  87,  113,  283;  Gardens,  154,  218, 
255;  Sanitation,  155. 


APPENDIX  283 

Quantity  of  Seed  per  Acre  and  Legal  Weights  per 

Bushel 


Alfalfa 

30  lbs. 

60  lbs. 

Barley 

8  to  10  pks. 

48  lbs. 

Blue  Grass 

20  to  25  lbs. 

14  lbs. 

Buckwheat 

3  to  5  pks. 

48  lbs. 

Clover 

10  to  15  lbs. 

60  lbs. 

Corn,  shelled,  check  row 

6  to  8  qts. 

56  lbs. 

Corn,  ensilage 

10  qts. 

Cotton,  upland 

4  to  8  pks. 

32  lbs. 

Cowpea 

4  to  7  pks. 

60  lbs. 

Oats 

2  to  3  bu. 

32  lbs. 

Potato 

6  to  18  bu. 

60  lbs. 

Rye 

3  to  8  pks. 

56  lbs. 

Timothy 

10  to  20  lbs. 

45  lbs. 

Wheat 

6  to  9  pks. 

60  lbs. 

Weights  in  second  column  vary  slightly  in  some  states. 

Distances  Apart  for  Planting  Fruit  and  Vegetables 

Feet  Feet 

Apples  30-40     Cabbage 2-3 

Apricots  15-20     Carrot 1.5-2 

Cherries    15-25     Corn,  sweet 3-3.5 

Oranges  25-30     Celery    3-4 

Peaches 15-20     Lettuce    1-2 

Pears 20-30     Onion 1.5-2 

Plums 15-20     Parsley    1-2 

Quinces 10-12     Peas 1-3 

Blackberries   4.5-7     Potato  2.5-3 

Currants   4-4.5     Radish   1-1.5 

Gooseberries 4-4.5     Rhubarb   4 

Raspberries 3.5-5     Salsify  1.5-2 

Strawberries 1-4  Squash  and  pumpkin.  .    6-8 

Asparagus 3-4     Turnip 1.5-2 

Beans,  bush  and  pole . .    2-4     Tomato  3-4 

Beet   1.5-2 


284  ELEMENTARY  AGRICULTURE 

LOCATION  OF  STATE  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS 

Any  letter  addressed  to  the  '' Experiment  Station'*  with 
proper  post-office  address  will  reach  the  institut*  an, 

Alabama — Auburn  or  Uniontown  or  Tuskegee. 

Arizona — Tucson. 

Arkansas — Fayetteville. 

California — ^Berkeley. 

Colorado — Fort  Collins. 

Connecticut — New  Haven  or  Storrs. 

Delaware— Newark. 

Florida — Gainesville. 

Georgia — Experiment. 

Hawaii — Honolulu. 

Idaho — Moscow. 

Illinois — Urbana.        ^ 

Indiana — Lafayette. 

Iowa — Ames. 

Kansas — Manhattan. 

Kentucky — Lexington. 

Louisiana — Baton  Rouge. 

Maine — Orona. 

Maryland — College  Park. 

Massachusetts — Amherst 

Michigan — East  Lansing. 

Minnesota — St.  Paul. 

Mississippi — Agricultural  College. 

Missouri — Columbia  or  Mountain  Grove. 

Montana — Bozeman. 

Nebraska — Lincoln. 

Nevada — Reno. 

New  Hampshire — Durham. 


APPENDIX  285 

New  Mexico — Agricultural  College. 

New  York — Geneva  or  Ithaca. 

North  Carolina — Raleigh. 

North  Dakota — Agricultural  College. 

Ohio — Wooster. 

Oklahoma — Stillwater. 

Oregon — Corvallis. 

Pennsylvania — State  College. 

Rhode  Island — Kingston. 

South  Carolina — Clemsbn  College. 

South  Dakota — Brookings. 

Tennessee — Knoxville. 

Texas — College  Station. 

Utah — Logan. 

Vermont — Burlington. 

Virginia — Blacksburg. 

"Washington — Pullman. 

West  Virginia — Morgantown. 

Wisconsin — Madison. 

Wyoming — Laramie. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  is  located 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  Address  the  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture. 


INDEX 

All  figures  refer  ^o  pages;  heavier  type  is  used  for  the 
more  important  references 


Agricultural  BuUetins,  see  Farm- 
ers' Bulletins 

A.gTicultural  Collegre,  see  Collegfes 
of  Agriculture 

Alfalfa,  2u;  for  pasture,  43,  44; 
for  honey,  69;  a  rotating  crop 
for  fertilizing,  91,  94,  95,  146, 
150;  soil  and  crops,  151;  how 
to  start,  151,  152;  good  for 
horses,  152;  for  other  stock, 
43,  44,  152,  153;  a  field  (Fig. 
83),  152;  plant  showing  long 
tap-root  (Fig.  84),  153;  and 
corn  as  feed,  43,  153;  quantity 
of  seed  per  acre  and  legal 
weight    per    bushel,    283 

Anchor  bend,  13 

Ants,  82 

Apples,  clay  soil  for,  85,  173,  lo- 
cation of  orchards,  172;  plant- 
ing trees,  173,  283;  spraying, 
177,  178;  from  trees  not  sprayed 
(Fig.  38),  62;  from  trees 
sprayed  (Fig.  39),  63;  thinning 
crop,  179;  grading  and  packing, 
180;  growing  and  use  of,  180, 
181;  seedless,  181 

Apricots,  planting  trees,  283 

Army  worms,  78 

Arsenate  of  lead,  277 

Ash  trees,   seeds  of,  101 

Asparag^is,  194,  283 

Ayrshire  cattle,  24 

Babcock  milk  test,  24,  27,  228,  247 

Bacteria,  in  soil,  85,  90,  91;  and 
clover,  91;  work  of,  91,  92,  146, 
150;  in  food,  213,  214,  215;  in 
butter  and  cider,  215;  in  sew- 
age, 218 

Bantams,   50 

Barley,  10.  92,  283.  142.  143; 
bread,  126;  rotation  and  seed 
bed,  142;  enemies,  143;  uses, 
143 

Bams,  horse,  11;  cattle,  19,  221; 
ventilation,  221 ;  a  sanitary 
dairy  barn  (Fig.  107),  220 

10,    191;   string,   191,  192; 


butter,  192;  lima,  192;  bush 
and   pole,   283 

Becket   hitch,    12 

Beef  cattle,  18  (Fig.  9),  17;  uses 
made  of,  28;  side  of,  246 

Bees,  61,  62,  64,  68-76;  first  sugar 
makers,  68;  finding  the  bee 
tree,  68;  honey  train,  68;  where 
honey  comes  from,  69;  a  prof- 
itable apiary  (Fig.  44),  69; 
pollen  and  wax,  69,  70;  mem- 
bers of  the  bee  family,  70 — 
the  worker,  the  queen  and  tbe 
drone  (Fig.  45),  70;  work  of 
the  queen,  71;  why  bees  swarm, 
71,  72;  stand  of  bees  near 
swarming  time  (Fig.  46),  71; 
getting  a  new  queen,  72;  divid- 
ing the  work,  72;  drones,  73; 
Italian  bees,  73;  helping  the 
bee,  73;  honey  extractor,  73, 
75;  It's  all  in  knowing  how 
(Fig.  47),  74;  keeping  bees 
warm,  75;  do  not  starve  bees, 
75;  another  service,  75;  busy 
as  a  bee,  76 

Beetles,  61,  64,  67;  cucumber,  79, 
197;  flea,  165;  flower,  81;  po- 
tato   (Fig.    89),    164,    165 

Beets,   85,    189,   190,   192,   283 

Belgian,  bay,  5 

Berkshlres,  39    (Fig.  24),  40 

Binder,   see  Self-binder 

Bindweed,  81 

Bird  houses  (Fig.  52),  81,  82 

Birds,  77,  260;  "Birds  of  Killing- 
worth,"  77,  78;  service  to 
farmers,  78;  other  friends  of 
the  farmer,  78,  79;  Grosbeaks 
are  friends,  79;  tarring  the 
seeds,  80;  protecting  grain 
fields,  80;  the  Grosbeak  and 
the  orchard,  80,  81;  policemen 
of  the  air,  81;  eating  weed 
seeds,  81;  big  appetites,  81,  82; 
making  friends  of  the  birds 
(Fig.  52).  81,  82;  sharing  with 
the  birds,  82;  see  also  names 
of  birds 


287 


288 


INDEX 


Bits,  frosty,   10 

Blackberries,  198,  199,  283 

Black  rot,   198 

Blackwall  Utcli,  13 

"Black  weevil,"   see  Weevil 

Bliffht,  the,  166 

Bluebirds,   78,   82 

Blue  grrass,  283 

Blue  Jays,  83 

Bobolink    (Fig.    49),  78,   81 

BobwMte  (Fig.  51),  80,  82 

Boll  weevil,  see  Weevil 

Bone  meal,  95 

Books,  reference,  for  teachers,  281 

Bordeaux  mixture,  165,   177,  178, 

192,   198;   formula,   279 
Bowline,   12 
Brahmas   (Fig,  30),   50 
Bread,   making,   213;    white,   126, 

131,   137;   rye,  144,   145 
Bridle,  the,  14 
"Broilers,"  49,  56,  57 
Bronze  turkeys   (Fig.  35),  58 
Brown    Swiss,    24;    twin    calves 

(Fig.  15),  25 
Bnck wheat,  69,  2 S3 
Bumblebees,  75 
Burdocks,  101,  168,  170  (Fig.  92), 

171 
Butter,     251;     bacteria    in,,  215; 

churning  the  first,   16,   17;    see 

also  "NDUs.  and  butter 
Butterflies,  61,  62,  64,  65 
Buttermilk,  32 


Cabbasre,  85,  190,  191,  195,  196;  a 
well  cultivated  cabbage  lot 
(Fig.  99),  195;  distances  apart 
for  planting,  283;  maggot,  196; 
worm,  196 

Calves,  19-21;  getting  ready  for 
market,  19,  20;  feeding  meal, 
20;  an  empty  dinner  pail  (Fig. 
11),  20;  mixed  food,  20;  wean- 
ing, 20;  "Where  are  our  moth-] 
ers?"  (Fig.  12),  21;  saving 
cream,  21;  Brown  Swiss  twin 
calves  (Fig.  15),  25 

Canada  Thistle,  168,  (Fig.  91) 
169,  171 

Caukerworm,  78,  79,  81,  177 

Cardinal,  79,  80 

Carrick  bend,  13 

Carrots,  10,  189,  193,  283 

Caterpillar,  65.  78,  79,  81 

Cattle,  16,  245;  more  useful  than 
horses,  16;  origin,  16;  taming 
wild  cattle,  16;  churning,  16, 
17;  hitching  to  loads,  17,  18; 
two  kinds,  18;  care  and  feed, 
18,  19;  beef  cattle,  18;  dairy 
cows,  21-27;  Babcock  milk  test. 


24,  247;  uses  of  beef  cattle,  28; 
how  to  get  good  stock,  28;  cat- 
tle and  sheep,  37;  see  also 
Calves,  Dairy  Cows,  and  names 
of  breeds 

Cauliflower,  187 

Celery,  187,  283 

CeUars,  216,  217 

Cheese  makings,  32,  33 

Cherries,  173,  283 

Cheshire  (Fig.  23),  39 

Chester- White,  39,  41  (Fig.  25) 

Chickadees,  78 

Chickens,  see  Poultry 

Chum,  the,  31,  32 

Chumlngr,   16,  17,  30 

Cider,  215 

Clay,  soils,  84.  85;  crops  for,  85; 
why  wet,  88,  89,  106;  roads,  208 

Clove  hitch,  12 

Clover,  146-150;  for  horses,  9;  for 
calves,  20;  for  hogs,  43,  44,  45; 
honey,  69;  in  New  Zealand,  75; 
bacteria  and,  91,  93-95,  146; 
kinds  of  soil  for.  147;  ready  to 
cut,  147,  148;  careful  handling, 
148;  curing,  148;  uses  of,  148, 
149;  for  cattle,  149;  getting  a 
stand,  149;  seed  per  acre  and 
weight  per  bushel,  283. 

Clubs,  Boys'  and  Girls',  229,  275 

Clydesdale  horses.  5;    (Fig.  5),  6 

Coach  horses,  3,  4,   (Fig.  2),  3 

Cochins,   50 

Cockerels,  57 

Cocoanut  seed,  101 

Codlingr  moth,  81 

Cold  frames,  188 

CoUegres  of  Afirriculture,  228 ;  Col- 
lege of  Agriculture,  Univ.  of 
Wis.    (Fig.    110),    227 

Colorado  potato  beetle,  see  Potato 
beetle 

Com,  113-125,  267;  for  horses, 
10;  for  calves,  20;  for  hogs,  43, 
44;  for  chickens,  54;  clay  soil 
not  good  for,  85;  grown  with 
and  without  fertilizer  (Fig. 
53),  93;  as  rotating  crop,  94, 
95;  flowers,  99;  pollination  of, 
99,  100;  discovery  of,  113; 
saves  the  pioneers,  113,  114; 
Indian  farming,  114;  where 
grown,  114;  corn  belt,  114,  115; 
a  corn  train,  115;  corn  land 
valuable,  115;  choosing  good 
seed,  115;  prize  ear,  115,  116, 
(Fig.  60),  116;  good  kernels, 
116;  cobs,  116,  117;  cob  too 
large  or  too  small  (Fig.  61), 
116;  space  between  kernels 
(Fig.  62),  117;  when  to  select 
seed,  117;  curing  the  seed,  118; 


INDEX 


289 


corn  tree,  118;  testing  seed, 
118,  268,  269;  testing  seed 
corn  (Fig.  63),  119;  improving 
corn,  118;  planting  evenly,  118, 
119;  making  soil  rich,  120;  how 
to  plow,  120,  121;  how  to  keep 
ground  moist,  121;  planting 
crop,  121;  keeping  weeds  down, 
122;  plowing,  122;  gathering 
the  crop,  123;  corn  cutter  (Fig. 
67),  123;  saving  it  all,  124;  a 
great  discovery,  124;  building 
silos,  124,  125;  filling  the  silo 
(Fig.  68),  124;  corn  a  treasure, 
125;  with  alfalfa  as  feed,  153; 
fertilizer,  279;  ensilage,  seed 
per  acre,  283;  shelled,  check 
row,  seed  per  acre,  283. 

Corn,  sweet,  see  Sweet  corn 

Corn  meal,  21 

Com  stover,  124 

Cottag-e  cheese,  32 

Cow,  diagram  of,  245 

Cow  testing'  assn's,  27,  28 

Cowpeas,  20,  153;  bacteria  and, 
91,  94.  146;  a  rotating  crop,  94, 
95,  155;  seed  per  acre  and  legal 
weight    per    bushel,    283 

Cradle  (Fig.  71),  130;  cutting 
wheat  with  a  (Fig.  72),  131; 
Sc^-the   or,    132 

Cream  separator,  30,  31;  the  old 
way  (Fig.  18),  31;  the  new  way 
(Fig.   19),   31 

Creepers,   78 

Crops,   farm,   84-200 

Crows,   83 

encumber  beetles,   79,   197 

Cucumbers,  187,  196,  197 

Curcullo,  depositing  egg  on 
young  peach  (Fig.  40),  64; 
young  grub  destroying  fruit 
(Fig.   41),  64 

Currants,  283;  dried,  198 

Dairy  cows,  18,  21-27;  choosing  a 
good  cow,  21;  Jersey  type,  22, 
23;  Guernseys,  23,  24;  Holstein, 
24;  Babcock  test,  24;  what  a 
good  cow  produces,  24;  Caring 
for  the  dairy  cow,  25;  their 
food.  25,  26;  testing  cows,  26- 
28;  "A  row  of  money  makers" 
(Fig.  16),  26;  how  to  get  good 
stock.  28;  see  also  name  of 
breeds 

Dandelion  seed,  101,  168 

Diphtheria.  220 

Draft  horses,  3;  kinds  of,  4,  5 

Dragon  flies,  61 

Drainage,  importance  of.  89;  how 
to  drain  swampy  land,  90;  how 
drainage  helps,  90;  map  of  tile 


lines,    90;    importance    in    road 

making,  207,  208 
Drill,  wheat   (P'ig.  70),  129 
Dry  farming-,  107 
Ducks,  59;   Pekin    (Fig.   36),   59 
Duroc-Jersey  hog's,  39,  41,  43 
Dutch  belted,  24 

Earthworms,  78 

Egg  plants,  187,   189 

Eggs,  hen's,  49-51;  duck's,  59 

Exercises,  241-275 

Experiment  Stations,  227,   284 

Experiments,  241-275 

False  reef  or  granny,  12 

Farm  animals,  1-83 

Farm  machinery,  103,  266;  mak- 
ing machinery  better,  108;  cop- 
per tools,  108-109;  first  iron 
tools,  109,  110;  farm  machinery 
of  today,  110,  111;  tractor  en- 
gine drawing  four  plows  (Fig. 
58),  110;  care  of  machinery, 
111,  112;  gas  engine,  a  labor 
saver  (Fig.  59),  111;  see  also 
names   of   farm    machinery. 

Farm  sanitation,  see  Sanitation, 
farm 

Farmers'  bulletins,  47,  48,  226, 
282 

Farmer's  College,  225-228;  edu- 
cating the  farmer,  225;  learn- 
ing the  best  way,  225,  226;  ex- 
periment stations,  227,  284; 
colleges  of  agriculture,  228 

Fertilizers  for  different  crops, 
27  9-281 

Fertilizing',  91-95;  best  and 
cheapest  fertilizer  (Fig.  54), 
103,  104;  old  way  of  spreading 
(Fig.  64),  120;  manure  should 
be  spread  evenly  (Fig.  65), 
121;  corn,  120;  wheat.  130;  hay 
crops,  146-153;  sugar  beets, 
156;  tobacco,  160;  gardens,  184 

Flicker,  82 

FUes,  64,  65,  67,  79,  83,  216,  219; 
as  disease  carriers,  219;  fight- 
ing,  219,  220 

Fly  catchers,    78 

Food,  preserving,  see  Preservlnflf 
foods 

Formaline  solution,  166 

Fruit,  172-181,  274;  canning,  214; 
preserving,  215 

Fruit  trees,  distances  apart  for 
planting,   283 

FunflTicidss,  insecticides  and,  277- 
279 

Galloway,  18;  cow  (Fig.  10),  19 
Garden,    the    farm    182-200;    the 


290 


INDEX 


boy's  garden,  182 — beautiful  as 
well  as  profitable  (Fig.  98), 
185;  a  school  garden  (Fig.  97), 
183;  gardens  everywhere,  182- 
183;  location  and  soil  183;  fer- 
tilizing, 184,  280;  preparation, 
184,  185;  tools,  185;  mulch,  186; 
planting,  186,  187;  transplant- 
ing, 187;  window  box,  187;  hot- 
beds, 188;  cold  frames,  188; 
preparing  for  transplanting, 
189;  transplanting,  189;  ro- 
tating crops,  189,  190;  plant- 
ing between  rows,  190;  weeds, 
190;  mulching,  190;  see  also 
names  of  vegetables  and 
fruits. 

G-eese,  59.  60;  Christmas  bird, 
59    (Fig.    37),   60 

Gnats,  83 

Gooselberries,  283 

Grafting-,  102 

Grapes,   85,   177,  197,  198 

Grapevines,  102,   198 

Grasshoppers,    49,    58.    61,    78,    82 

"Greens,"  194 

Grosbeaks,   79-81 

Grubs,   193 

Guernseys,  18,  23,  24 

"Halter-break,"    11 

Hansom  cab,  7 

Harrow,  disk  or  spring  tooth,  121 
(Fig.    66),   122 

Harvesters,  combined,  135,  136; 
steam,  136,  137 

Hawks,   chicken,   57,   83  . 

Hay,  9,  85,  146-153;  timothy,  146 
(Fig.  78),  147;  the  clovers,  146, 
150;  alfalfa,  150-153;  hay  load- 
er (Fig.  81),  150;  stacking  hay 
(Fig.  82),  15i;  cowpeas,  153 

Header,  the,  133 

Herefords,  18 

Hogrs,  see  Swine 

Holsteins,  18,  24;  a  record  cow 
(Fig.    14),    23 

Horse,  the,  1,  241;  taming  the 
wild,  1;  variety  in  size,  1; 
horse's  foot,  1,  2;  riding  horse- 
back, 2;  first  work  animal,  2; 
the  horse  and  the  Indian,  2; 
draft  horses,  3-5;  coach  and 
roadsters,  3,  4;  how  to  hitch, 
5,  6;  driving  fast,  6,  7;  race 
horses,  7;  horses  as  food,  8; 
proportion  of,  to  people,  8; 
horse  power  cheap,  8;  cheaper 
than  human  labor  (Fig.  82), 
151;  feeding,  8,  9;  good  variety, 
9,  10;  cleaning  and  care,  10; 
healthy  shoulders,  10,  11; 
stable,  11;  shoeing,  11;  break- 


ing colts,  11,  14;  his  first 
bridle,  14;  driving  the  colt,  14; 
signals,  14,  15;  kindness  pays, 
15;    see   also   names   of   breeds 

Horse-radisli,  193 

Hotbeds,  187,  188 

Humus,  87,  88,  94,  149 

Indian  farming*,   114 

Insecticides  and  fungicides,  277- 
279 

Insects,  61-67;  enemies,  61; 
friends,  61;  parts  of  insects, 
61;  biting  insects,  61,  62;  suck- 
ing insects,  62;  contact  in- 
secticides, 62;  moulting,  63,  64; 
stages  of  development,  64,  65; 
larva  stage,  65;  pupa  stage,  65, 
67;  freezing  the  insect,  67;  in- 
sect life  short,  67;  see  also 
names   of   insects. 

Irrig-ation,  107,  108;  private  irri- 
gation plant  (Fig.  56),  108;  ir- 
rigating an  orchard  (Fig.  93), 
174 

Jerseys,  18.  22,  23,  24;  the  dairy 

type  (Fig.  13),  22 
June-berry  trees,  80 
June  bug-    (Fig.   42),   65 

Kerosene  emulsion,   63,   278 
King-birds,    78 

Knots  that  every  farmer  should 
know  (Fig.  8),  12,  13 

Leaf-blig-ht,   192 

Iieg-horns,  50 

legrumes,  147,   150.   153,  214 

Lettuce,    187,    190,    196,    283 

Iiime-sulphur,  279 

Linseed  meal,  21 

Iioam,  85 

Macaroni,   137 

Manure,  as  fertilizer,  95,  160, 
184;  the  best  and  cheapest  fer- 
tilizer (Fig.  54),  103,  104;  old 
and  new  ways  of  spreading 
(Figs.    64,    65),    120,    121 

Maple  trees,  101 

Martins,   82 

May  beetle,  see  June  bug: 

Meadow  lark   (Fig.  50),  79,  81 

Meadow  mice,  79 

Meal,  as  calf  feed,  20,  21 

Melons,   196;   muskmelons,   197 

Merinos,  36-38;  merino  ram  (Fig. 
21),  36 

Milch  cows,  see  Dairy  cows 

Mildew,  177,  191,  198 

Milk  and  butter,  29,  251;  milk  as 


INDEX 


291 


food,  29;  keeping  milk  pure 
and  clean,  29;  milking  the 
cows,  29,  30;  butter-fat,  24,  27, 
30;  ready  to  churn,  30;  churn- 
ing, 30;  preparing  butter  for 
market,  30,  31;  the  churn,  31, 
32;  cheese  making,  32;  by- 
products, 32,  33;  souring  of 
milk,  215;  milk  a  germ  carrier, 
220,  221 

Mil^  sngrar,  32 

MiUc  test,  Babcock,  24,  27,  228, 
247 

Minorcas,   50 

Mold,   213,  214 

Moles,    79 

Mosqtatoes,  61.  64,  67,  79,  216, 
218,   219 

"Mother  of  vlneg-ar,"  215 

Moths,  64,  79,  196 

Mulberry  trees,  80,  82 

Mustard,  196 

Nigrbthawlcs,   79,   82 

M-itrogen,  91-93,  95,   146,  160,  184 
Zruthatcbes,  78 

Oats,  9.  10,  20,  85,  87,  92,  94,  98, 
138-142,  271;  a  heavy  crop 
(Fig.  76),  140;  climate  and  soil, 
138;  preparing  seed,  138;  test- 
ing, and  easy  sowing,  139; 
seed  bed,  140;  moisture  need- 
ed, 139;  rotation,  141;  harvest- 
ing, 141;  uses,  142;  fertilizer, 
280;  seed  per  acre  and  legal 
weight  per  bushel,  283 

Oil  meal,  20 

Onions,   187,    197,   283 

Oranges,    283 

Orchards,  172-181,  274;  helping 
one  another,  172;  keeping  near 
market  or  railroad,  172;  hill 
lands  for  orchards,  172;  the 
best  slope,  172;  influence  of 
water,  173;  kinds  of  soil  for 
fruit,  173;  preparation  of  fruit 
land,  173;  planting  trees,  173; 
setting  trees,  174;  irrigating 
(Fig.  93),  174;  packing  about 
the  roots,  175;  tilling  orchards, 
175;  crop  between  trees  (Fig. 
94),  175;  injury  to  trees,  176; 
pruning,  176;  spraying,  176, 
177;  Bordeaux  mixture,  .177; 
spraying  machines,  178;  spray- 
ing outnt  (Fig.  95),  179; 
spraying  (Fig.  96),  181;  thin- 
ning fruit,  178-180;  harvesting 
fruit.  180;  peaches,  180;  apples, 
180,  181 

Oriolea,  82 

Owls.  79 


Paris-green,  165,  177,  178,  196, 
278 

Parsley,   283 

Parsnips,   193 

Peaches,  172,  174,  177,  178,  180, 
283 

Pears,   85,  173,   174,   177,   179,  283 

Peas,    10,    79,    187,    190,    191,    283 

Peppers,   187 

Percheron,  5;  Percheron  stallion 
(Fig.  3),  4;  prize  six-horse 
team    (Fig.    4),    5. 

Phosphorus,  93,  95 

Picket  rope  with  a  half -granny 
and    half-hitch,    12 

Pistil,  the,  98,   99 

Plants  and  how  they  grow,  96, 
265;  learning  about  plants,  96; 
dividing  their  work,  96;  roots 
and  their  work,  96,  97;  the 
stem,  97;  leaves,  97,  98;  flov/er, 
98;  seed,  98;  father  and  moth- 
er, 98;  corn  flowers,  99;  carry- 
ing the  pollen,  99;  night  work- 
ers, 99,  100;  pollen  from  other 
plants,  1(X);  kinds  of  plants, 
100;  why  different,  100,  101; 
interesting  habit,  101;  scatter- 
ing their  seed,  101,  102;  how 
man  helps,  102 

Plow,  the  first,  18;  how  to  plow, 
120,  121;  plowing  corn,  122 

Plums,  173,  174,  283 

Plymouth  rocks,  barred  (Fig. 
31),  51;  white  (Fig.  32),  52 

Poland  China,  39,  42  (Fig.  26), 
42 

Follinadon,  98,  99;  carrying  pol- 
len, 75,  99;  night  workers,  99, 
100;  pollen  from  other  plants, 
100 

Pop  com,  122 

Potash,   160,  184 

Potato  beetle,  79,  165,  177;  at 
work    on    plant    (Fig.    89),    164 

Potatoes,  Irish,  161-167,  272; 
food  for  chickens,  54;  clay  soil 
not  good  for,  85;  in  rotation, 
94,  190;  early  home,  161;  in 
Ireland,  161;  widely  grown 
crop,  161;  a  tuber,  161,  162; 
standard  varieties  (Fig.  88), 
162;  kinds  of  seed,  162,  163; 
eyes,  102,  163;  cutting  seed, 
163;  how  to  choose  seed,  163- 
165;  climate  and  soil,  165; 
cultivation,  165;  insect  en- 
emies, 165;  potato  bug  (Fig. 
89).  164;  scab,  165,  166;  blight, 
166;  harvesting,  166,  167;  field, 
yielding  350  bushels  per  acre 
(Fig.  90),  166;  mulching  for, 
191;    fertilizer,    280;    seed    per 


292 


INDEX 


acre  and  legal  weight  per 
bushel,  283;  planting,  283 
Potatoes,  sweet,  167 
Poultry,  49,  257;  original  home, 
49;  value  to  farmer,  49;  eggs, 
49-51,  54;  four  classes,  50; 
Cochins,  50;  Brahmas  (Fig. 
30),  50;  Leghorns,  50;  Minor- 
cas,  50;  Bantams,  50;  general- 
purpose  fowls,  50,  51;  Ply- 
mouth Rocks  (Fig.  31),  51; 
(Fig.  32),  52;  Wyandottes,  51; 
Rhode  Island  Reds,  51;  hab- 
its, 51;  nests,  51,  52;  in  pens, 
53;  care  of  henhouse,  53;  sani- 
tary poultry  house  (Fig.  33), 
55;  laying  hens,  53,  54;  hatch- 
ing little  chicks,  54;  how  to 
care  for  the  brood,  54,  55; 
chicken  lice,  55 ;  brooder 
chicks,  55,  56;  incubator  babies 
(Fig.  34),  56;  fattening  broil- 
ers, 56,  57;  poultry  pests,  57 

Preserving*  foods,  213-215;  germs 
which  help  and  hinder,  213; 
yeast  plant,  213;  making 
bread,  213;  mold,  213,  214; 
canning  fruit,  214;  bacteria, 
214;  smoking  meats,  214,  215; 
cold  storage,  215;  preserving 
fruits,  215;  souring  of  milk. 
215 

Problems,  241-275 

Prunes,    178 

Puddling",  209 

Pumpkins,    283 

Quail,  see  BobwMte 
Quinces,   283 

Badislies,    96,    187.    190,    193,    283 

Barweed,  81,  168 

Baisins,  198 

Bakes,  hand-dump  (Fig.  79),  148; 

self-dump   (Fig.  80),  149 
Baspberries,  198,  199,  283 
Bats,  57,  79 
Beap  iLook,  127,  132;  ancient  tool 

for    reaping    grain    (Fig.     69), 

127 
Beaper,  133,   134;   the  first   (Fig. 

73),    134 
Bed-bird,  see  Cardinal 
Bed-headed      Woodpecker      (Fig. 

48),   77,  78 
Bed  rust,   199 

Beef  knot  or  square  knot,  12 
Bliode  Island  Beds,  51 
Bbubarb,   283 
Bice,  126,  157,  161;  growing,  158; 

products  and  enemies,  158-  159 
Bice-Stalk  borer,  159 


Beads,  country,  201-212;  im- 
portance of  good  roads,  201; 
sociability  encouraged,  201; 
good  roads  and  schools,  201, 
202;  city  people  interested, 
202;  marketing  farm  produce, 
202;  fine  public  roads  raise 
value  of  farm  lands  (Fig.  101), 
203;  first  expert  road  builders, 
204;  roads  abroad  and  at  home, 
204;  plantation  mud  pikes, 
204,  205;  early  roads,  205;  toll 
roads,  205,  206;  working  out 
road  tax,  206;  every  township 
should  own  a  steam  roller 
(Fig.  103),  206;  a  better  way, 
206,  207;  state's  part,  207; 
drainage,  207,  208;  grading  and 
draining  are  essential  to  good 
roads  (Fig.  104),  207;  grading, 
208;  grading  a  country  road 
(Fig.  105),  210;  surfacing  clay 
roads,  208;  sand  roads,  208; 
loam  roads,  208,  209;  split-log 
drag,  209;  other  aids  to  good 
roads,  209;  gravel  and  shell 
surfacing,  209,  210;  stone 
roads,  210;  Roman  roads,  210; 
macadam,  210,  211;  brick,  212; 
a  brick  road  needs  little  care 
and  repair  and  brings  the  mar- 
ket nearer  (Fig.  102),  205;  lay- 
ing a  brick  road  (Fig.  106), 
211;  draft  on  different  sur- 
faces, 212 

Bobins,  78 

Bock  phosphate,  95 

Botation  of  crops,  92,  93;  good 
reasons  for,  93,  94;  weeds 
checked  by,  93,  170;  in  the 
north,  94;  in  potato  states,  94; 
for  cotton,  94;  for  corn,  94,  120 

"Boyal  jelly,"  72 

Bust,  131 

Bye,  92,  113,  115,  126,  143-145, 
283;  an  old  crop,  144;  as  pas- 
ture, 144;  enemies,  145;  at- 
tacked by  ergot  (Fig.  77),  144; 
uses,  145 

Salsify,  193,  283 

Sanitation,  farm,  216-224;  loca- 
tion of  farmhouse,  216;  dry 
surroundings,  216;  shade,  217; 
water  supply,  217;  sewage  a 
source  of  disease,  217,  218; 
river  water,  218;  mosquitoes, 
218,  219;  house  fly,  219,  220; 
milk  a  germ  carrier,  220,  221; 
ventilating  the  barn,  221;  cold 
air  heavier  than  warm,  221; 
home  ventilation,  221,  222; 
school  ventilation,  222,   223;   a 


INDEX 


293 


well-ventilated  country  school 
(Fig.  108),  222;  school  light- 
ing, 223;  the  first  top-lighted 
school    (Fig.   109),   224 

Scab,  the,  165,  166 

Scale  inflects,  79,  178;  black  olive 
scales,  81;  San  Jose,  279 

School  lifirhting-,  223;  first  top- 
lighted   school    (Fig.    109),    224 

School  ventUation,  222,  223;  a 
well-ventilated  country  school 
(Fig.  108),  222 

Seed,  98;  how  some  plants  scat- 
ter, 101;  quantity  of,  per  acre, 
283 

Self-binder,  134,  135;  modern 
binder  (Fig.  74),  135 

Sewasre,  217,  218 

Shade,  217;  every  farm  needs  its 
shade  and  water  easily  acces- 
sible   (Fig.   1),  frontispiece. 

Sheep,  34,  253;  wild,  34;  taming, 
34;  where  sheep  live,  35;  use 
of,  35,  36;  for  wool  or  mutton, 
36;  Merinos,  36-38;  Merino  ram 
(Fig.  21),  36;  cattle  and  sheep, 
37;  for  mutton,  38;  Shrop- 
shires,  38;  Southdowns,  38; 
dogs  and  sheep,  37,  38;  see  also 
names  of   sheep 

Shepherd  dog-,  37,  38 

Shire,    the,    5 

Shoeing*  the  horse.  11 

Shorthorns,  18  (Figs.  9  and  17), 
17,    27 

Shropshires,  38;  ram  (Fig.  22), 
37 

Sickle,  see  Reap  hook 

Silkworms,  61,  65 

Silos,  124;  building,  125;  filling 
the   .silo    (Fig.   68),   124 

Slip  knot,  running  noose  or  hal- 
ter knot,   12 

Smart  weed,  81 

Smut,  131 

Sou,  84,  262;  what  they  do,  84; 
light,  84;  heavy,  84,  85;  crops 
for  clay,  85;  loam,  85;  what  the 
soil  contains,  85;  plant  food, 
86,  87;  humus,  87-88;  soil  and 
surface  water,  88;  why  clay 
soils  are  wet,  88,  89;  holding 
water  for  plants,  89;  impor- 
tance of  drainage,  89;  good 
soil  contains  air,  89,  90;  how 
to  drain  swampy  land,  90; 
farmer's  bacteria  friends,  91; 
bacteria  and  clover,  91;  grow- 
ing several  crops,  92;  not  too 
many  crops.  92;  rotation  of 
crops,     92,    94;     phosphorus    a 

f)lant  food,  95;  keeping  up  the 
and,   95 


Sonthdowns,  38 

Soy   beans,   91,   146 

Sparrows,  82,  83 ;  tree.  81 

Spinach,    190 

Spraying-,  176,  177;  apples  (Figs. 
38,  39),  62,  63;  outfit  for  the 
orchard  (Fig.  95),  179  ;  the 
successful  orchardist  always 
sprays    (Fig.    96),    181 

Squashes,  113,  187,  190,  196,   283 

Stable,  see  Bams 

Stains,  how   to  remove,  276 

Stamen,   the,   98,  99 

Starch,    125,    137 

Sterilizing-,  214 

Stick  tights,  101 

"Stink   bug,"    197 

Strawberries,  172,  199,  200;  noth- 
ing so  fine  as  home-grown 
strawberries  (Fig.  100),  199; 
283 

Sng-ar  beets,  155-157;  how  dis- 
covered, 155;  a  field  (Fig.  85), 
156;  preparation  and  soil,  156, 
157;   harvesting,   157 

Sng-ar  cane,  154-155;  planting, 
102,    154,    155;    harvesting    155 

SwaUows,    78,   83 

Sweet  corn,   190,  194,   195,  283 

Swine,  39-48,  255;  improving 
hogs,  39;  best  breeds,  39; 
Cheshire,  39,  pig  (Fig.  23). 
39;  bacon  type,  40;  lard  type, 
40;  Berkshires,  40;  Berkshires 
on  clover  (Fig.  24),  40;  Ches- 
ter-whites, 41;  sows  and  pigs 
(Fig.  25),  41;  Duroc-Jerseys, 
41;  Poland-Chinas,  42;  a  prize 
(Fig.  26),  42;  feeding,  43-44; 
rooting,  44;  yards,  45;  fencing. 
45;  sheds  and  shelter,  45; 
houses,  46;  diseases,  47,  48 

Swiss  chard,  194 

Tlllag-e,  103-111;  sowing  and 
reaping  in  olden  times,  103; 
wearing  out  the  soil,  104; 
Jethro  Tull,  104;  fields  in  poor 
and  good  tilth  (Figs.  55a,  55b), 
105;  feeding  plants,  105,  106; 
keeping  moisture  in  the  soil, 
106;  dust  mulch,  106,  107;  dry 
farming,   107 

Timber  hitch,  13 

Timothy,  9.  87.  94,  124,  (Fig.  77) 
14  1,   (Fig.  78)    147,  281,  283 

Tobacco,  113,  159,  160;  a  heavy 
crop  and  drying  barn  (Fig.  86), 
158;  drying  and  curing  (Fig. 
87),  159;  fertilizer,  160;  cur- 
ing, 160 

Tomatoes,  187,  189.  190,  191,  197, 
280.  283 


294 


INDEX 


Trotting*    horse,    American    (Fig. 

6),  7;  mares  and  colt   (Fig.  7), 

9 
Tuberculosis,    220,    221 
Tull,  Jethro,  104 
TurSeys,  58-59;  bronze  (Fig.  35), 

58 
Turnips,  10,  54,  85,  190,  192,  193, 

196    283 
Typhoid,  217,  218.  220 

Urus,   the,    16 

Veg-etable  oyster,  see  Salsify 
Veg-etables,    distances    apart    for 

planting,    283;    see   also   names 

of   vegetables 
Ventilation,  see  Sanitation 
Vineg-ar,  215 

Warblers,   78 

Wasps,  61,  64 

Water  supply,  217;  river  water, 
218 

Weavers'  knot  or  sheet  bend,  13 

Weeds,  168-173;  birds  as  destroy- 
ers, 81;  rotation  for,  93,  170; 
annuals,  biennials,  and  peren- 
nials, 168;  fighting  the  weeds, 
169,  170;  for  drugs,  171;  in  the 
garden,  190;  see  also  names  of 
weeds 

Weevil,  bean,  192;  "black,"  159; 
cotton  boll  (Fig.  43),  66;  pea. 
191,  192 


Weig-hts  per  bushel,  legal,  283 
Wheat,   92,   95,   115,   126-137,  270; 

for  calves,  20;  for  chickens, 
54;  on  clay  soil,  85;  composi- 
tion of,87;  white  bread,  126; 
first  wheat  farmers,  126;  in 
Asia,  126;  in  America,  127; 
world's  crop.  127,  128;  vari- 
eties, 128;  climate,  128;  pre- 
paring soil,  128;  sowing,  128; 
cultivation,  129;  drill  (Fig. 
70),  129;  in  Japan,  129;  cradle 
(Figs.  71,  72),  130,  131,  132; 
in  rotation,  94.  130;  enemies, 
130,  131;  harvest,  131;  sickle, 
132;  (Fig.  69),  127;  animal 
power,  132;  header,  132,  133; 
reaper,  133,  134;  the  first  (Fig. 
73),  134;  self-binding,  134, 
135;  modern  binder  (Fig.  74), 
135;  combined  harvesters,  135, 
136;  shocks  of  golden  grain 
(Fig.  75),  136;  steam  harvest- 
ers, 136,  137;  how  much  we 
eat,  137;  other  uses,  137;  fer- 
tilizer, 280;  seed  per  acre  and 
legal  weight  per  bushel,  283 

Whey,   32 

Window  box,  187 

Woodpecker,  see  Red  -  headed 
Woodpecker 

Wren,  82 

Wyandottes,  51 

Yeast,   213 


YB  45444 


578505 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBRARY 


